Circuit Magazine #10

WINTER

2010/11 £4.50/$8 £4.50/$8

Circuit The

The Magazine for Security Professionals

Cover:

TERROR IN THE SKIES the Cargo Plane Bomb hidden in a toner cartridge

BLOOD SWEAT AND YEARS The Israeli Approach to cope better with Homeland Security issues ROUGH INJUSTICE “My name is Philip Young and I am a South African citizen incarcerated in Afghanistan” ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A CAREER IN CLOSE PROTECTION? G4S Specialist Training’s Phoenix Close Protection course is accredited by the SIA THE FUTURE OF SECURITY REGULATION It’s no secret that the coalition government had wanted to abolish the SIA Quarterly publication publication from from the the British British and and North North American American Bodyguard Bodyguard Association Association AA Quarterly

CONTENTS

� Foreword by Shaun West & Elijah Shaw � ReadersWrites 4] Your Comms to HQ � OnTheJob 5] Pre–Hospital Emergency Practitioner Course 6] C.V. Spell Check 8] Functional Combatives For Close Protection 11] Setting The Tone 11] Where do You Read Yours?

12] Choosing The Right Emergency Medical Equipment 14] Are You Looking For A Career In Close Protection?

16] Good Comms... Good Teamwork 18] Physical Fitness Interview with Barry Gibson � HardTalk 21] Surveillance Detection Seminar 22] Rough Injustice 24]

The Cargo Plane Bombs

� ShopTalk 27] What’s In Your Go Bag pt.2 28] Consultants, What Now? 31] Counter The Scourge 32] The Future of Security Regulation 33] Blood Sweat and Years 34] The Modern Samurai

36] Q&A With Prof. Leonard C. Holifield 38] Police vs Security? � BoyZone 40] Get Your Kit On � TechTalk 41] Installing Encryption Software � Features 20] Financial Q&A Session with Mitchells 29] Working Girl with Jacquie Davis 35] Keeping Your Edge with Elijah Shaw 39] BooKlub

FOREWORD

by Shaun

West & Elijah Shaw

S

easons Greetings! Unfortunately for many people working within our industry, they won’t get to spend the festive season with their families as they will be out protecting others. For those that are fortunate enough to have the festive season free, I’m sure they’ll raise a glass for you.

There have been some interesting discussions on the BBA message boards, one of them about availability - how available are you?

Are you able to deploy immediately should a fastball call to deploy on a task with a moments notice come in?

When you are just starting out sometimes the only way to get yourself known is by dropping everything to go on a task in order to build yourself a solid reputation.

It’s no good complaining about not being able to get work if you don’t take what is offered, however menial it may seem.

If you want to have a successful career within the industry you have to make some sacrifices along the way. Once you become established you can then pick and choose, to a degree, the tasking you deploy upon.

T

he wait is over. Hot off the presses (or perhaps cold as this is the Winter edition of the Circuit Magazine), you are now holding in your hand the newest issue of what in our most assuredly biased opinion is the best damn magazine focused on Close Protection & related skills, on the market. The Circuit is a collaborative process that has the distinction of being primarily owned, written & published by individuals that are actively working in the Close Protection Industry. While we consider that a good thing, as it lends an air of authenticity that many periodicals just don’t have, it’s not without it’s challenges.

Case in point, as I write this, my counterpart on the other side of the pond, is actually laid up battling a case of Malaria that he contracted while on an assignment. (Get well soon Shaun!) For my part, I’m blasting out this foreword at the same time as coordinating the security staffing of a Celebrity filled event in NYC and prepping to take a VIP to Paris. (Thanks for your help BBA member, Benjamin A.)

In short, there are a lot of plates to juggle when we elected to take on this undertaking without quitting our day jobs! With that Guys I wish you all every success. said, the magazine is truly a labor Remember, if you have no work of love, and it’s very satisfying when the call comes in, take the to get feedback from readers job, as every person you meet around the word who chime in on is then added to your network. various articles that they agree Look at everything you do as an (or disagree) with. That means opportunity to better yourself and keep the emails and Facebook meet someone new. comments coming and we’ll Keep yourself fit, focused and continue to forgo sleep to keep “THE” magazine for the security available at all times and the call will come. professional coming out on time.

“Utrinque Paratus” Shaun West

Elijah Shaw Managing Editor (US Edition)

The Circuit is compiled, edited and published quarterly by: The British Bodyguard Association www.The-BBA.org.uk :: Info@The-BBA.org.uk ::Tel: 0845 519 2538

Circuit : : 3

Circuit :: ReadersWrites

Your Comm’s to

that is what is being done then so be it, the cream always rises to the top!

The “where do you read yours: advert made me chuckle…..good effort chaps!

Paul Barker, BBA member

CM Ha, yes it was a nice touch. With so many of our subscribers living or working all over the world we figured it would make a nice little piece.

I am not convinced by reviewing books such as James Caan/The Real Deal? This is meant to be a security industry publication is it not?

Andy A, BBA Member via email

CM: Indeed Andy, it is a security industry publication. However, that does not mean that we all spend our time watching Rambo and reading books about Iraq! Do you never find other people’s success inspiring? We do and thought that this particular book was particularly good. We will be reviewing more books that may at 1st glance appear to be somewhat left of centre and hope that you can see why.

Loved the cover of issue 9 guys, nice contrast between colour and B&W Gerry J, Circuit Subscriber via email

CM: Thanks, we liked it also!

I read with interest the column

by Hucky Austin. I have my skill set and have worked in the industry but never fully realised my potential [in my opinion[ so reading his article gave me a bit of a kick in the bum to get moving and also how.

Nickname supplied but not submitter

CM: Random Thoughts seems to have been received well by quite a lot of people and that is great news. We are sure that future articles by Hucky will continue to provide much interest and we welcome him on board.

the subject?

Andrew Smith, Circuit Subscriber via e-mail

CM: Andrew, really pleased that you have noticed this. The good thing is that these articles are helping you and that is and will remain the intention. More articles on the subject are due which is great for you. We have in mind a course review[s] on this subject, we just need to finalise it.

Absolutely great to see the all female BG course covered in issue 9! Nice balanced article, the writer Heidi Sommer offered some feedback so wasn’t just singing praises.

Jane, BBA Member via email

CM: Agreed on all fronts. # The fitness article in the last issue was for me the best yet and a poke in the eye to those who say that they cannot stay fit in what are clearly less than satisfactory conditions.

Improvised kit in areas such as that is what is needed and just shows that it works!

CM: We loved it, check out the YouTube channel by typing pegasusfitness in to YouTube!

I have often mentioned your publication on security industry online portals and it seems to get swept aside by the moderators? Have you lot upset someone or am I missing something on the etiquette side of things?

Anon, via email

I would just like to say that I like the trend that I have noticed in your magazine, that is that you are getting more and more articles that discuss ‘management’ as I am currently trying to bridge the gap from operator to manager which is not easy. Any course reviews due on

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CM: Really? Pretty sad if that is happening! We do not trawl the various online portals to see who is saying what about us as we are all pretty busy guys but have no doubt that it is done. We feel that we give fair exposure to as many industry related bodies as possible [another in this issue, ASIS] but hey if

I would like to write for the magazine and perhaps get myself a BBA website but am not confident that getting myself out there is the right thing?

Any advice.

RS, BBA Member

CM: Well RS, only you can decide that.

Others obviously think so or they would not be doing it themselves. You cannot please all of the people all of the time - if you can please some of the people some of the time then you are not doing too badly! This is an often-asked question.

Listen, some people will really love it and others may not. You will be too tall for some jobs, too small for others, to old etc etc you need to make the choice and run with it.

It seems that you have to be a former Special Forces Soldier to get anywhere in this game? Any advice for us non SF guys?

YC, BBA Member

CM: Not true my friend, not true at all.

Having the SF tag can open many doors but it can close others. Having any military background can be great but it can also be a handicap. Being a former Police Officer has pluses and minuses and having zero ‘formal’ background is the same. The bottom line is that there are good people from all backgrounds making a good living and others not so. I know some really great operators who have never even been in the boy scouts. A vast subject, keep the chin up, network, be proactive, get the CV and cover letter sorted…….

Do you have anything that you like or dislike about The Circuit? We are always looking for feedback so that we may improve the product; all feedback will be taken seriously and actions taken to remedy any points where we feel they are valid and can improve the magazine.

We will publish as much or as little of your name as you wish: feedback@circuit-magazine.com

Circuit :: OnTheJob

PRE–HOSPITAL EMERGENCY PRACTITIONER COURSE

+

Medical Skills, as we all know are essential in the world of Close Protection, from the streets of London to the deserts in the Middle East. Being in such small teams requires highly skilled and confident medics who can provide that immediate life support. UK CPO’s are required to be at a basic level, currently First Aid at Work, however most companies now look to us as professionals and expect us to improve on this standard as part of our personal continual professional development.

by

R

the ECG equipment is live and works alongside special dummies to allow for effective learning

ROB MCGILL

ecently I attended a course run by Nottingham University Hospital, which is taught in their Clinical Skills department and accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. It is becoming a well recognised course and rightly so! Both John Graham Davies and Paul Alsop are the points of contact and instruct on the course throughout. They are both serving Paramedics who deal with casualties on a daily basis, they also call on help from serving and retired Firemen who are all Instructors to a high standard providing real life and tested techniques that are essential in the medical profession.

To be able to attend the course you will need an in-date First Aid at Work a Combat Medic Technician 1 or Emergency Medical Technician certificate. The duration of the course is 5 days, accommodation is not provided so you will have to book that yourself however there are plenty of reasonable B&B’s available which are within a 5 minute drive of the campus. Parking is free and meal vouchers are provided for dinner which is served in the canteen.

The course is intense and requires some pre– course study, this is provided well in advance and has all the information needed in or-

der to pass. This is a Pre – Hospital course and includes the use of drugs as well as manual defibrillation and oxygen. It also covers Paediatric life support and child delivery however the main study is the A – E assessment as a practitioner, there are big differences from a basic FAAW course in that everything is done methodically and to save time, this process is drilled into you and aids you in the up and coming assessments including the Immediate Life Support certification where you will be demonstrating knowledge of ECG algorithms, drug dosage and use.

All parts of the course are covered theoretically and then practiced using modern and accurate aids, drugs are there to see and prepare and the ECG equipment is live and works alongside special dummies to allow for effective learning.

The course culminates in a written assessment which is multiple choice, a medical scenario assessment and a trauma assessment.

All three are taken in a relaxed environment and the results are given on the day you take them so you can make the journey home knowing you have passed or if you will be required to re - sit.

If this course interests you then please get in touch with: John Graham Davies – John.GarhamDavies@nuh.nhs.uk; Paul Alsop - paul.alsop@nuh. nhs.uk Phone - (0115) 993 4988 Internal Ext: 54988 Course costs are £475 including VAT and further details and courses can be found at – http://www.nuh.nhs.uk/clinicalskills

Circuit : : 5

Circuit :: OnTheJob

C.V. SPELL-CHECK?

Get Over It!

With so much emphasis on CV presentation these days, let’s take a close look at the N°1 deadly sin, the spelling error, and what really lies behind the fact that only 6% of job seekers pass the stringent CV filtering system...

Personal Career Management, the UK’s leading career management providers, conducted a survey and discovered that 94% of CVs are destined for the wastepaper bin. Out of 450 CVs surveyed, 94% never made it past the first stage of the hiring process. A total of 81% had errors in spelling and grammar, and a further 13% were “Rlaley? But srleuy badly presented.

it deosn’t mttaer how we selpl, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae to be albe to raed whotiut a pbolerm.”

“Damn, I could use a gin and tonic.

Only one error-free CV out of 300 and I need a top salesperson fast. Problem is, this guy’s sales figures stink, in fact he was axed from his last 7 jobs. What the hell, his command of English brings a lump to my throat – he is bound to impress the client.”

by

VANESSA GAYLE COHEN

U

nfortunately, recruiters view errors as a sign of carelessness or a lack of attention to detail. The message is clear, if you haven’t made the effort to look good on paper, the decision makers aren’t interested in finding out if you look better at interview. After all, in a competitive market with hundreds of applicants pursuing the same job, rejecting CVs with errors in spelling and grammar is obviously the best way to find the most suitably qualified candidate – right?

Speaking at the centenary dinner of the Spelling Society, John Wells, Emeritus professor from University College London, called for the freeing up of the spelling system. “It’s time to remove the fetish that says that correct spelling is a principle mark of being educated,” he says. “Let’s spell logically, just as you do in Spanish, Italian, or Swedish.”

Mr. Wells did not say this on a whim. It seems that more than half of the population could use some “freeing up”....

The Spelling Society recently commissioned ICD Research/ID Factor to ascertain the current state of spelling in the UK. The results proved that more than half of the population could not spell words such as ‘embarrassed’ or ‘millennium’.

A spokesperson for the market research company www.OnePoll. com, which carried out a separate study of 5,000 Brits, said: ‘’So many of us can’t seem to spell.” The results gave us the Top 20 words that we struggle to spell correctly: ’Definitely’ is the most commonly misspelt word in the English language followed in order by: ‘sacrilegious, indict, manoeuvre, bureaucracy, broccoli, phlegm, prejudice, consensus, unnecessary, supersede, questionnaire, lieutenant, entrepreneur, connoisseur, inoculate, particularly, liquify, parallel, conscience’.

There are numerous theories – the majority of people blame poor methods of teaching in schools, while others blame the spell-check or text communication for engendering laziness. However there can only be one truth...

We have the most complex alphabetical spelling system of any major language in the world – one that has created poor spellers, and this throughout English speaking countries. Hardly surprising that Cuba, Barbados, Kazakhstan and Belarus all have higher levels of literacy than the UK, the USA and Australia.

“The spelling practices of modern English are the worst of any major language in the world.”

Dr. John Nist, A Structural History of English

“One cannot tell how to spell an English word by its pronunciation or how to pronounce it by its spelling.”

Professor Albert C. Baugh, A History of the English Language

“In all English-speaking countries, illiteracy is widespread. England, Canada and Australia share America’s difficulty in teaching people how to read and write. Yet in other industrialized countries, the prob-

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Circuit :: OnTheJob lem of functional illiteracy is not significant. Why not? Because most languages look the way they are spoken – Spanish, for example.”

Michael Gianturco, Forbes Magazine

“Written Spanish helps one learn Spanish. Written English only confuses the learner. The forty-odd sounds we speak are spelled in well over four hundred different ways – it is a major factor in creating our mass of adult English-speaking functional illiterates.”

Dr. Edward Rondthaler and Dr. Edward J. Lias, Dictionary of Simplified American Spelling

“English Students of German can spell six times better in German than they can in English.”

Christopher Upward, Former Senior Lecturer, Department of Accept / Except Advice / Advise All ready / Already All together / Altogether Assent / Ascent Course / Coarse Complement / Compliment Discreet / Discrete CONCLUSIONS

Effect / Affect Here / Hear Insight / Incite It’s / Its Passed / Past Presence / Presents Principal / Principle Review / Revue

In spite of the complexities of the English language, everyone is still expected to have mastered the art of perfect CV writing. Do be aware that it’s hard to catch your own spelling error, especially on screen. Print out your CV and ask a colleague or a friend to proofread – and then proofread again.

Finally, the best gift that you can give your children is to encourage

Languages and European Studies, Aston University Now that we have a better understanding of the problem, and while waiting for our spelling system to be “freed up”, how do we beat the “one error-trash can” system? As a Certified CV/Resume Writer working with clients worldwide, I can safely say that the straightforward CV spelling error is on the decline. Try typing ‘definately’ in a Word document!

However, what the spell-check can’t do is to correct “word confusion”, a.k.a. homophones – words that sound similar but have a different spelling, and a different meaning. I see a lot of these throughout CVs of all levels, and the following are some of the most frequent examples that can trip us up:

Scene / Seen Sight / Site Stationary / Stationery Their / There / They’re Theirs / There’s To / Too / Two Who’s / Whose Your / You’re a love of books and reading. The way things are going, it isn’t too difficult to imagine that the world will one day belong to those who can still remember that once upon a time, ‘c u l8a m8’ was written in a different way!

Vanessa Gayle Cohen, CPRW, CEIP CV SPECIFICS www.cvspecifics.com | info@cvspecifics.com

Circuit : : 7

Circuit :: OnTheJob

FUNCTIONAL COMBATIVES

FOR CLOSE

PROTECTION The aim of this short article is not to teach a specific system of close quarter combat. While the content is based on the conflict management course taught by CRMG, I hope to present you with some simple ideas that are of a general enough nature to be useful to you regardless of your training background. Also we are not going to deal with situational awareness or de-escalation in this article, our focus here is only on the physical side of conflict management. It only serves as a short introduction to part of our training methodology, and of course, “there are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream”. Please take whatever you find useful and do discard the rest, even if it means the entire article.

You’ve probably already noticed that there are very few pictures accompanying this article. We have instead created several short film clips that present some practical examples of the topics discussed. This allows us to give you more detailed explanations regarding the practical side of things and also makes it much easier to learn compared to just looking at a few pictures. The clips are published online at our website www.crmg.se.

OK

, before we start our discussion on training combatives for close protection, please remember that the most important thing in developing functional unarmed fighting skills, to my mind at least, is that it is not what you train but how you train that matters the most!

In other words, doing realistic training and having the right mindset is more important than knowing thirty different joint locks or having a funky t-shirt that tells the world how you are training in the latest over-hyped super-killer system. It is unfortunately still quite common, even in these days when reality-based training is becoming the norm, to see an over-focus on techniques while the psychological aspect of dealing with violence is overlooked. I still cringe when I think of a recent conversation I had with a gentleman who was very insistent that all you really need to know in order to effectively defend yourself is how to apply a finger lock...

8 : : Circuit

What we are going to briefly cover are three basic components of our CRMG training course that can apply to any other unarmed combative training program as well. These three components are; toolbox, mindset and the training methods used to develop them both.

Your personal toolbox... ...contains all the combative principles and techniques that you train???? and it needs to be very slimmed down and adaptable. It has to work in a highstress situation and should provide you with a very simple set of guidelines and techniques that can be used in a myriad of different situations including one or more aggressors, armed or unarmed, civilian or hostile environment, different levels on intent behind the initial attack, if you are working alone or in a team etc.

Simplicity is key because it will reduce your response time, think of applying a modified

by

CHRISTER WRETFORS

version of the OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) on a very personal and upclose level. First you need to recognize, at a sub-conscious level, that you are being attacked, then your nervous system needs to fire the beginning of a counter-attack and finally you need to direct this counterattack in mid-flight as your mind starts to categorize the specific attack that is coming at you. Is it aimed high or low, hand or foot, left or right side, linear or curved? You should be able recognize this instinctively.

These are all triggered reflex actions, there isn’t any conscious train-of-thought involved during your initial counter-attack.

The techniques themselves need to be very few in number, rely on gross motor skills and based on your natural reflexes while still adaptable enough that you can use them to counter anything the aggressor might throw at you. In our training course, we focus on developing a particular body method over specific techniques. This body method provides the entire physical framework for every move we make against the aggressor and provides both full body power generation and natural shielding against incoming attacks. In addition, we teach a core syllabus of just three simple fighting techniques. Both the body method and the techniques are from a system of Chinese combatives taught by the Yau Kung Mun family to the People’s Liberation Army during WW2.

Similar to other military fighting systems, it is simple enough to be learned by anyone and perfectly usable while wearing heavy gear etc. The same techniques used for our empty hand fighting are also used with a knife, pen, keys etc. with only minor modifications since they are still driven by the same core body method.

It is worth considering that many military fighting techniques are inappropriate for use in a low risk, civilian environment due to their violent nature. You are not

Circuit :: OnTheJob a soldier on the battlefield but a security professional and appearing on a tabloid front page with your elbow slamming into an overenthusiastic fan’s neck while your Principal looks on in horror would, in most cases, not be considered a successful publicity stunt. You are always protecting the image of your Principal, your employer and ultimately yourself.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you are operating in a hostile environment, where your standard toolbox includes an assault rifle and a semi-automatic, that short range elbow to the neck probably won’t do you much good either. So your personal toolbox always needs to be tailored to the specific role that you are serving in.

to lock up a training partner, even if he is resisting, compared to actually restraining someone who is hell-bent on ripping your face clean off. I am sure some of you guys and girls out there can do it but most of us will get smashed if we try. So we try to stop him from fighting back first and only later do we lock him. And when you do apply the lock, put a little effort into it so you get it on straight away.

I’ve fractured my fist twice during my martial arts training (never said that I am smarter than anyone else) and last time it took six months to become pain

Also on the topic of weapons, if you work as an armed escort, make sure to integrate your weapons training with your unarmed combatives. At all times if possible. This goes for weapons retention drills as well as weapons access and usage in conjunction with empty hand skills at extremely short distances. If you train with edged weapons, try to include live blades in your training so that you are not just “swimming on dry land” in addition to using simulated blades for contact training.

In a similar vein, try to incorporate training sessions wearing your standard working clothes and equipment. If it is a suit and a tie with a radio constantly poking you in the back then you should be wearing just that during training because you need to be comfortable applying your skills in your everyday environment. Don’t be like the martial artist who went to challenge another instructor and then took off his shoes before the fight because he always trained with bare feet. He may have walked in but he was hopping on the way out. The same applies to training weapon disarms or just basic hand-to-hand. Don’t allow the training drills to become a routine where you always do the same action over and over in the exact same manner, starting in the same spot on the floor etc.

Mix things up to keep them interesting.

And never ever just hand your training partner his weapon back after you’ve managed to disarm him. It is yours now. If he wants it, let him try to come and get it!

We never teach the use of fist strikes during our courses. First of all, it is very easy to injure your hands this way and while it is macho to say that you can keep on fighting with a “boxer’s fracture”, it is also somewhat stupid since you rely on the functionality of your hands during your work and everyday life. This is even more true if you carry and use a firearm.

free and almost a year before the fingers were moving normally again, no fun at all. So we teach palm strikes instead, they are just as effective as closed fists

There are three basic exceptions to the “hit first, lock later” tactic mentioned above.

The first one is if you are unfortunate enough to be in a profession where you are absolutely forbidden to strike or injure the other person. In that case, make sure to perfect your grappling and physical conditioning but also spend extra time on team work drills with your colleagues. In fact, the second exception is if you have team-mates assisting you. Even so it can still be very difficult to restrain a strong individual so this isn’t always an exception.

The third one is probably the most important one and it is if the individual has a firearm. In that case, control the firearm first, then take him out fast and finish by removing the weapon. Never hit the hand or arm that is holding the weapon, this can disturb the antagonistic relationship between the muscles in his arm causing an accidental discharge. Control, strike, disarm then create distance and check on your team and your surroundings.

Mindset Violence is ugly and normal people tend to experience varying levels of fear during a violent attack. Proper training creates mental triggers that, in addition to firing our techniques, also help us go into a fighting state of mind, as opposed to flee or freeze.

and the risk of damaging your hand is lower. Not to mention the fact that they also look less violent in the eyes of the public (and in the spying paparazzi lenses). Never forget that someone is always watching your every move.

Going back to the gentleman with the finger locking skills, while joint locks and take downs are great to have in the toolbox, we always teach our participants to soften the aggressor up first with a few strikes (or by dumping his ass on the ground) before trying to apply them.

There is a huge difference between trying

We prefer to use intense scenario-based training methods where the participants are forced to work through their normal pain and fatigue barriers, this helps them get into that mental space where new triggers are easier to install. You want to have at least one trigger that puts you in a fighting state of mind and one more that fires your initial counter-attack. Also, please note the use of the word “counterattack” rather than “self-defence” or similar. Words are very powerful and we need to choose them wisely when programming our sub-conscious minds.

Always use positive imagery. There is no time to hesitate, doubt or “to make one’s mind up” once the attack happens. You need to work all that out during training.

This is where pressure testing and actual contact training with uncooperative training partners are so important because

Circuit : : 9

Circuit :: OnTheJob ultimately it gives you confidence in your own abilities and the knowledge that your training will work when you need it.

When teaching civilians to defend themselves, we normally use fear channelled into rage to provide the required attitude change that allows them to face and use violence. For security professionals this approach isn’t enough since it can lead to a loss of self-control and use of excessive force. So we need to take it one step further and cultivate a dispassionate mindset while still using the same basic instincts to trigger the fight mechanism.

Another important factor is to try to include as much physical conditioning and explosive power training as your time schedule possibly allows. The physical conditioning should not be limited to lifting weights and doing cardio but also try to include loads of partner exercises that involve hard physical contact so you can learn to take a real hit or two and still keep going.

During our courses, we always train the participants to use the overkill principle.

From the moment we spring into action, we launch a series of counter-attacks until we

perceive that the threat is over or until we are ordered to withdraw. This also requires us to install yet another mental trigger that makes us stop and resume a “normal” state of mind. We need to be able to instantly snap in and out of our fighting mindset in order to make informed decisions about our next course of action. For many people attending our training, this is much harder compared to just entering a combative state of mind alone. Realistic training scenarios that challenge not just the participants physical skills but also present them with increasingly difficult tactical problems are quite useful in this case.

What overkill doesn’t mean is that we always automatically pound people into the ground until they stop breathing. In some cases, it is just one or two moves until you register that you don’t need to continue and your trigger snaps you back into normal reality. This could, for instance, be if the perceived threat turns out to be somebody who requires a more gentle treatment. Your initial triggered response, however, is still the same regardless even if the person suddenly pulls out a pen and paper, a knife or a gun

(the key word here being “suddenly”).

A final note on the mental preparation side of training is that you need to plan for what happens after the situation has been dealt with. This includes administering first aid to yourself and others, what procedures you will follow if left behind at the scene, how to deal with law enforcement, legal council, how to give and take testimonies, proper etiquette during court appearances and so on. Never leave anything to chance in your training, bad luck usually strikes the unprepared first.

Until next time, have fun, train hard, stay safe!

Christer Wretfors is co-owner of Casus Risk Management Group (CRMG) and runs the company’s south Sweden office. He has been training in martial arts for the past twentyfour years and is the European representative for ‘Warrior Body Buddha Mind’ and the Yau Kung Mun martial arts family. CRMG specializes in risk analysis and advanced security solutions such as OptaSense® by QinetiQ. The company also provides different training courses, including basic and advanced conflict management training. Please visit www.crmg. se if you would like to know more.

British Special Forces

Argus Europe Ltd Security Specialists

Our courses are accredited by EDEXCEL and cover all of the core competencies as specified by the Security Industry Authority. In addition the instructors have included extra tuition in subjects, which they believe will be invaluable to a Close Protection Officer.

Argus Europe has been providing specialist training for high-net worth clients and their families for 16 years, worldwide.

Our training scenarios will give you the opportunity to practice the skills of a Close Protection Officer using the knowledge that you have gained throughout the course in a realistic but safe environment prior to heading out into the field as a CPO.

Argus Europe is an operational company working globally with an extensive variety of contracts.

Our continued active involvement with our operational commitments ensures that our training remains at the cutting edge giving us an advantage that others cannot match.

Argus Europe provides accommodation and breakfast and all learning materials. Course numbers are strictly limited so that all students enjoy a high instructor to student ratio.

We provide bespoke solutions for our clients using a pool of dedicated professionals and proven protocols. We can present a report outlining projected costs and the probability of success, prior to contract.

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OPERATIONAL COMMITMENTS • Close Protection Operations

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Circuit :: OnTheJob

SETTING THE TONE by

SHAUN WEST

First

impressions in any line of work are huge and cannot be underestimated. Nobody wants to hire somebody who doesn’t know what they are doing or who is not confident in their own ability, so a good pneumonic to work to is the 6 P’s - Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Poor Performance, this was a great saying which was hammered home during my army days but seems to be relevant in all of the things that we do as security professionals.

If you are not properly prepared prior to going on a task you are leaving yourself wide open to fail. Generally in this industry our Principals are used to a first class service as they are used to paying good money for professionals and it certainly won’t take long to be found out if you are left wanting.

Tips for leaving a lasting first impression When meeting your Principal for the first

Starting out on any new task for the first time can be extremely exciting, what you must ensure you do once setting out on any job is to set the right tone with both the Principal and the hiring company by starting the task as you mean to go on. time (or any subsequent time) your dress should be immaculate and be in the same context as the Principal i.e. - if the Principal is suited and booted this means you should be also. This also works the other way if your Principal is in shorts and t-shirt then so should you be unless there is a special reason why the Principal may wish you to be dressed differently.

By getting the clothing right is a good start but remember it’s not just about dress it’s also about how you carry yourself whilst carrying out your role. You are being paid to protect the interests of your Principal whether that is a him/her or their children. You will be getting watched from these guys when you first start as you are the new boy on the payroll and they will want to see that they are getting a return for their investment and not someone who is itching to get away to repeatedly “phone the wife”, they are paying your wage so whilst on task your time should be theirs

and only job specific calls made, calls to the wife can wait.

If asked any questions from the Principal answer with confidence, if you don’t know the answer then tell them but let them know you will endeavour to get back to them with the relevant information requested asap. There is nothing wrong with saying you are unsure of something, I have been on many jobs where people are scared to say no to the Principal or just tell them what they want to hear rather than telling them the truth, honesty is always the best policy when trying to build trust, some things may be better masked when talking with them but if you are asked a direct question never lie as this is a surefire way of once again joining the job centre queue.

Remember it is not just yourself you are representing it is also your employer and if you want future work then you must give off the service expected.

ASIS International is the organization for security professionals. Founded in 1955, ASIS is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and productivity of security professionals by developing educational programs and materials that address broad security interests.

The Certified Protection Professional (CPP) indicates board certification in security management, and is widely recognized as the highest designation accorded a security practitioner, with 6,500 CPPs world-wide.

The Physical Security Professional (PSP) is for those whose primary responsibility is to conduct threat surveys, design integrated security systems that include equipment, procedures and people, or install, operate and maintain those systems. The UK Chapter organises four main

conferences per year, usually in London as well as smaller, regional meetings and educational events.

ASIS in the UK offers security professionals the opportunity to meet, network, learn from some of the industry’s leading experts on a wide range of topics and obtain internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information about ASIS in the UK please contact ASIS Chapter 208 (United Kingdom) PO Box 208, Princes Risborough, HP27 0YR | 01494 488599 | asis@awdry.demon.co.uk www.asis.org.uk www.asisonline.org or contact Vice Chairman—Strategy Mike Hurst: mike@hja.co.uk

Circuit : : 11

Circuit :: OnTheJob

A

s close protection personnel, individuals need to be ready to deploy at short notice, often to remote or hostile areas.

Sometimes they will be lucky enough to be working for an employer who provides equipment but in the case of medical kit, the likelihood is that they will be required to source and supply, or at least identify what is required.

by

DAVID PREECE

For individuals with no specific medical responsibilities, the emphasis lies with compiling a personal deployable pack that will cover your immediate needs, while being a lightweight and unobtrusive addition to the rest of your kit.

The amount taken will depend upon the duration of the deployment, the environment and the distance from re-supply but the following items should be considered: • Plasters/tape infection from the patient • Small dressing • Tactical tourniquet for early management of catastrophic limb • Antiseptic cream/wipes haemorrhage (e.g. SOFTT-W™) • Sun cream • Basic airway adjunct (e.g. oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal • Lip salve airway) • Insect repellent • Chest Seal to manage open chest wounds • Foot powder • Olaes Modular Bandage™ - the state-of-the-art trauma dressing • Pain killers • Chemical light stick to provide a fall-back light source in a crisis, • Gloves or to be used to mark a casualty’s position at night • Rehydration sachets You might also consider adding a lightweight window punch • Any prescribed medication you are taking (e.g. ResQMe™) if working with vehicles that are not fitted with In addition to this, we would advise that security personnel armoured glass. Additionally a pair of ambulance-type scissors are carry a personal trauma kit containing essential items to provide useful for cutting away the casualty’s clothing. an immediate response to a medical incident. The content can vary Some kits on the market are provided within a pack or pouch to suit personal preference but the following items are ones that we that can be discreetly fitted to a belt, leg rig, tactical vest or body would recommend: armour, or can be attached to the outside of equipment bags. How • Gloves for personal protection and where you choose to carry your trauma kit depends largely • Protective face shield for performing mouth-to-mouth on personal preference and your employer’s policy, but it must be resuscitation, minimising the risk of acquiring a blood-borne readily accessible in an emergency and the rest of your team need

12 : : Circuit

Circuit :: OnTheJob to know where it is kept too.

This kit, together with good first aid training, e.g. First Person on Scene (Intermediate), will ensure that you are capable of giving lifesaving immediate medical care in a hostile environment.

For the deployed medic, the emergency medical equipment needs to be much more comprehensive. Much depends on your role and the nature of the operation you are covering. You should consider the population at risk (how many), the nature of the operation, the duration of the task and what casualty evacuation or medical support procedures are in place. There are also logistic considerations as you may be limited by space or weight.

The medic may have to provide his or her own equipment, or it may be supplied by the employer. In either case there are serious issues to consider such as comprehensiveness of equipment, transport and storage conditions, expiry dates, and legality (on what ground are you going to carry and administer drugs, for example).

Some of the areas that may need provision include: • Personal protective equipment • Airway and ventilation • Monitoring and defibrillation • Immobilisation (limbs and spine) • Bandages and wound management • Infection control • Vascular access • Emergency Medication (where appropriate) • Primary Care Pack (where appropriate) • Emergency dental equipment • Patient packaging and transport equipment (see below) There is also the requirement for evacuating the casualty after an incident. As discussed in an earlier article specifically about stretchers, we would always like to have a rigid stretcher, long board or scoop stretcher, head blocks and a vacuum mattress to provide a gold standard evacuation for a casualty. In an operational setting it is rare to have access to this full range of equipment, particularly in a tactical setting. In this situation an element of risk assessment with regard to casualty handling is going to be required to get them out to a safe environment for

treatment and packaging. If you have to evacuate under these circumstances, standard stretchers will require at least 2 people to evacuate a casualty, potentially putting both of the bearers at risk.

Any stretcher you choose should be capable of being deployed in a care under fire situation in both urban and non-urban settings.

Ideally, it should provide the capability to allow a single rescuer to lower or drag the casualty up or down a flight of stairs, steep banks or rough terrain. The design should be simple to use, rapid to deploy and, ideally, able to be used by a single as well as multiple rescuers as the situation permits.

As a deployed medic you might also want to take the following factors into consideration.

Are you part of a larger team that may get separated or operate in smaller units? If you are then ensure that there is a medical kit for each unit.

• Do you have a base from which the teams deploy from? Consider having a base medical kit and smaller “Field Kits” that teams can deploy with.

• Make sure that the members of your team know where the medical kit is kept and have some tuition in the use of basic items such as tourniquets and airways. It may be you who is injured.

Finally, it is worth stressing the importance of good medical training. You might have a field hospital of equipment with you but if you don’t know how to assess a casualty or how to use the equipment, it will be of absolutely no use to you.

This article has hopefully given a very brief overview of the issues involved in planning what medical equipment to take on deployment.

The team at Prometheus Medical has many years expertise of developing and delivering pre-hospital and clinical care in military and civilian situations, in both the UK and overseas. Dave Preece is Prometheus’ Equipment Manager and can be contacted on +44 (0)1568 613942 if you have any specific questions about medical equipment requirements.

Circuit : : 13

Circuit :: HardTalk

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A CAREER IN CLOSE PROTECTION? G4S Specialist Training’s Phoenix Close Protection (CP) course is accredited by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and registered and approved by City & Guilds. This course is designed to provide commercial training for service leavers and those operating within the private security industry.

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Phoenix CP trained personnel are highly sought after for deployment on a wide variety of assignments worldwide. Since its launch in 2000, G4S has been responsible for training over 1000 CP operators. Adam Morgan took a Phoenix CP course this year and now works for G4S as a Close Protection Operator based in Kabul. Here he shares his experiences of the Phoenix CP course.

Circuit :: HardTalk

Adam Morgan Close Protection Operator Kabul “After serving eight years with the 1st battalion the Parachute Regiment, I decided to leave the Army and pursue a career in the private security industry. To secure employment in this industry it was necessary for me to complete appropriate Close Protection (CP) training in order to obtain an SIA license. Luckily, as a recent army leaver I was able to use my resettlement grant to fund the training.

“I chose G4S Specialist Training’s Phoenix CP course after speaking with Ian Kelly, Chief Training Instructor, who was extremely helpful and answered many of the questions I had. Shortly after speaking with him I paid my deposit and had a place confirmed.”

Training is provided at G4S’ facility in Hereford and full board accommodation is included. The course takes the form of a mix of real life scenarios and desk based theory training. Theory training is conducted in a classroom which includes an “ops” room with computer and Internet access where students can plan, conduct and control the exercises from. “Throughout the course, you are assessed and graded as you complete various build up exercises, which lead to a final exercise. The build up exercises allow instructors to understand individual strengths and weaknesses, and give advice on areas for improvement. I must admit that I found the theory training slightly hard going at first, however during the progress tests and the final SIA multiple choice exam, I was able to appreciate how this complimented the practical training.”

When it comes to the more practical elements of the course there are countless offices, hotels and restaurants that students have access to in order to conduct their training, adding realism to the tasks that need to be completed. It is not unusual to find yourself in one of a fleet of vehicles doing a pickup of a VIP at an international airport or driving like Jason Statham at G4S Specialist Training’s driver training facility in Pershore. Here students are taught a multitude of driving techniques, including instinctive and evasive driving, J turns, Y turns and vehicle ramming.

“I believe that Phoenix CP training is ideal if you are looking for a course that will enable you to work effectively as a CP operator. Phoenix is a well recognised course across the circuit and has a good reputation for providing excellent training. If you are looking for a course that guarantees a pass then this will not be right for you.

The Phoenix CP course is graded, which obviously will affect employability, but does demonstrate the high quality of the training provided.”

Each training topic is taught by a subject matter expert, many of whom have served with the Parachute Regiment and UK Special Forces, and have worked as CP operators themselves. Instructors are always available during breaks and in the evening to answer questions and give any additional help needed.

“Surprisingly, considering the environments that most CP operators work in, the course does attract a number of students from non-military backgrounds. Some of these students were worried that a lack of military experience could hinder them. However when it came to the hostile environment day, those with no military experience actually grasped aspects of this much more easily.

“The final exercise is conducted over two days and sees five to six teams working independently on separate tasks as part of the same, bigger operation. Students are rotated through various roles, completing tasks learned throughout the course. I found this to be an intense and sleepless period, yet extremely enjoyable, which I believe was a view shared by all my fellow students.”

Following completion of the course, everyone is offered an interview with the G4S Risk Management HR team. “I was lucky enough to be offered a position and following the screening process I was deployed to Afghanistan, finding myself in a role that I find both interesting and extremely rewarding.

The course takes the form of a mix of real life scenarios and desk based theory training.

Circuit : : 15

Circuit :: OnTheJob

GOOD COMMS... ... GOOD TEAMWORK Communication is probably the most important factor when operating in a security team, be it close protection, residential security or surveillance.

Team tasks can succeed or fail depending on whether good communication is maintained between members. Therefore this article provides a quick overview of some various types of personal radio equipment available.

by

PETER JENKINS

Radio equipment has to be: •

Reliable and robust

•

Have sufficient transmit/receiving range

•

Portable and discrete

•

Secure

•

Simple to operate

•

Good battery life

You get what you pay for and you cannot go far wrong with a major brand such as Motorola, Kenwood or Icom.

Radio Frequencies Two different wavelengths are available in the UK and the correct one should be selected to obtain maximum performance for the type of area that you are normally working in. As a rule of thumb:•

UHF should be used if you are constantly working in buildings, malls and urban areas.

•

VHF is ideal for most situations, it is adequate for both built up areas and out in the open and is the most commonly used.

It is preferable to have a power output of at least five watts to provide you with sufficient power and transmitting range, the majority of hand held radios can be set to a maximum of five watts.

Radio handsets offer flexibility, they can be carried about your person overtly or covertly and can be fitted with accessories that will enable you to use the radio discreetly. If used with an external antenna on a vehicle, they can also be used car to car albeit with a limited range, but still acceptable.

Hand Held Radio Sets

Digital Radio

Kenwood TH-22E

In this day and age, everything is going digital which includes radios such as Motorola’s MOTOTRBO DP3400 or DP3600. The good thing about these sets is that you can have a number of channels programmed to operate in analogue mode (in the event you are working with other teams) and another set of channels that operate in digital mode. Digital mode offers more security as the transmissions are not easily open to interception (unless you are GCHQ). I have the DP3600 programmed so that I can cut into any transmission (handy if someone is ‘hot miking’ or waffling on for long periods). I can also select any callsign on the network and open up their mic’ in order to listen in, handy if you have not heard from a call sign for a while.

This is an old model, originally supplied for use by radio hams (144Mhz) but a quick modification opens up the set between 136175Mhz. A very slim concealable set, which pushes out 5 watts. They are not readily available now and replacement batteries are hard to get hold of. An excellent radio in its day, which we replaced with the smaller TH-F7E for a short period.

Motorola Motorola’s GP340 and GP344 are popular radios, robust and will take a knock or two. The ancillaries can be expensive and any changes to the radio settings or adding new frequencies have to be carried out by an authorised dealer. We used the GP340 all over the world for about 6 years and never had any problems, a brilliant set.

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Another advantage of going digital is the ability to use a repeater (DR 3000), which is excellent when operating over very large areas.

Quite simply, the transmissions from the handsets (5 watts) are rebroadcast at 30 watts giving that extra range, the repeater can be adapted to use in a vehicle. The earlier digital systems had a problem with limited range but now they are equal, if not better than their analogue counterparts.

Our company switched to digital earlier this year and so far we have been very impressed, especially when fitted with covert ancillaries.

It was a big expense but definitely an essential requirement.

Circuit :: OnTheJob Radio Ancillaries There are many types of earpiece available from overt to covert.

The ‘Curly Wurly’ is a robust earpiece, which is more suited to overt or subtle security work such as close protection or door work. If you take a wack around the head or take a fall, it is likely to stay in your ear or dangle loose rather than go flying into oblivion like a wireless earpiece.

Rough costs: Digital Radio £300 Covert Loop £150 Wireless Earpiece £105 Curly Wurly Earpiece & Mic £40 Walkman Style Earpiece & Mic £45 Suppliers East London Communications Lowe Communications (Savox)

Lowe Communications supply various earpieces, which are solidly built and reliable. We use their curly wurly’s for rural surveillance and they also supply a semi-covert unit with which you can plug in any type of headphone set, such as an iPod’s. I was in ‘NEXT’ clothes shop last week and found a walkman headset sewn into a black beanie hat for £8.00 which also worked with the wires!

into the loop is a microphone to pick up your voice (even a whisper) and the loop ‘transmits’ to the small earpiece placed in the ear, which appears very similar to a hearing aid. The pressel (PTT) runs down your sleeve or into a pocket. Since going digital we replaced all of our induction loops and the comms between operators on foot has been excellent, especially in the city and on the underground.

If you want to be totally covert, wireless earpieces, used in conjunction with induction loops are the way to go. Built

If you are looking for a supplier, shop around, they are all after business and are offering some good discounts.

Circuit : : 17

P

Circuit :: OnTheJob

HYSICAL FITNES with

RYAN NAISH

LESS OF THE ACTION, MORE OF THE CHAT

B

arry Gibson is the owner and founder of Grapplefit Training, located in the North East of England. A lifelong Martial Artist, having achieved Titles and Grades in various disciplines: Former British and Scottish Sambo Wrestling Champ, 3rd dan Black belt in judo and 1st degree black sash in Kung Fu. He currently works as a full-time Strength and conditioning (S&C) coach, putting elite fighters through their paces with huge success; notably Ross ‘The Real Deal’ Pearson of UFC fame.

With a wealth of knowledge from personal fighting and training experience, as well as a solid academic background in Sports Science, Barry is one of the leading Coaches currently operating in the UK today.

Barry took time out from a hectic schedule to answer some questions for ‘The Circuit’:

RN:

: Barry, How did your interest in Strength and Conditioning start?

BG:

I’ve been involved in combat sports from 6 yrs of age so it’s always been a big part of my life - fighting, training and conditioning was an ever-present at home and in judo classes - my dad always trained so it seemed natural that I did too. As I got older and graduated from university, I saw the need for athletes to be fitter and stronger especially when all other aspects are nearly equal.

RN:

: On the UK Close Protection circuit, weapons cannot be legally carried. Which Martial Art, in your opinion, would be most effective when dealing with a physical threat?

BG:

I’d have to say that a guy who trained in boxing and judo or wrestling would be a good choice! The boxing can provide the knock out power from a swift blow, but the judo or wrestling can offer a more restraining kind of option if appropriate.

Someone trained in both could offer a measurable response based on threat, I’d say in my opinion.

RN:

: You’ve worked with some elite athletes over the years.

Which ones have been stand-out for you, on both a mental and physical level?

BG:

I’d have to say Ross Pearson, Andy Fisher, Colin Fletcher and Anth Grecian (MMA fighters), Kirk Goodings and Jonson McClumpha (Professional Boxers) - the heart these guys show is unparalleled. They turn up and the intensity is there always

18 : : Circuit

S

- that’s what is so cool about training fighters! The hard part is reigning them in and slowing them down.

RN:

: If you were travelling somewhere that had no gym facilities. Which 3 training aids would you be sure to carry in your luggage?

BG:

Easy - my bodyweight, space around me, a resistance band and maybe a gripper ;-) ok that’s maybe four!!!

RN:

: You’ve just been putting together a new training DVD, can you tell us a bit about it?

BG:

It’s based around periodisation for fighters - linear periodisation to be precise - how to structure a training camp around strength, power and fight fitness!! It’s going to be awesome!!!

RN:

: What are your aspirations for the future?

BG:

Global domination Ryan!!!! (Insert my evil laughter) To take Grapplefit to a world stage where it’s associated with quality training for combat athletes. And to continue training the fighters I work with - There’s also more informative products coming soon!!!

Barry Gibson is a Professional S&C coach with a BSc in Sport Science, MMA CSCC, Cert Ed, a former police personal safety trainer and former national judo academy coach. Barry can be contacted through his website grapplefit.com

Circuit :: Focus

CIRCUIT CHALLENGE

Every issue we focus on various companies and operatives from within the industry and reveal a little more about them

A full body circuit to be performed for between 6-8 rounds at best possible speed. The amount of repetitions stated should be completed before moving onto the next exercise. The completion of the four exercises will constitute as 1 round and rest is taken on an ‘as needed’ basis. The aim is to move through the circuit as quickly as possible, keeping the intensity high.

The equipment included can be replaced with an alternative, as can the exercises. It is merely an example. Use your imagination to create a challenging circuit from what you have available.

ROCK SHOULDER PRESS - 6 reps

Member Spotlight ______________________________ Rachel Stojanovic ______________________________

BULGARIAN BAG FRONT-SQUAT - 8 reps

RECLINE ROW (SUSPENSION TRAINER/RINGS) - 6 reps

JACKNIFE (SUSPENSION TRAINER/RINGS) - 8 reps

I

’ve been involved in the Security Industry since the summer of 2010 when I attended a Close Protection training course where I was the only female on the course. Having left the British Army’s Medical Corps in 2007 after an 8-year career I felt comfortable working in a male dominated environment and I showed the men I was more than capable team member. I excelled throughout course working extremely hard in both classroom and while on task.

I have also completed an Advanced Surveillance course with Argus Europe; I enjoyed the challenge of learning another new skill.

Immediately after passing the course, Argus employed me to carry out 5 days of surveillance; I learnt a great deal including the use of technical surveillance equipment while out on the ground with their experienced Operators.

Whilst serving as a Combat Medical Technician I responded to various emergencies and understand the importance of keeping my medical skills up-to date for the commercial environment. To this end I have recently completed a Paediatric First Aid refresher course and have registered to become a St Johns Ambulance volunteer.

Soon after receiving my SIA CP license I was tasked as part of a 2-man team to carry out witness protection for a high profile client. I was helped enormously on this task by having a strong TL who gave me the opportunity to prove myself. I was nervous for the first time in years but soon settled in to the job. The TL gave me handy tips and advice; these were not only relevant to the job in hand but also for future CP tasks. When we first met the 2 Principals the lady that I was assigned to was very anxious of the situation that she faced.

Throughout the task she relaxed as she felt more confident with me by her side. The job lasted 3 days and everything went smoothly. I have since completed another task for the same TL as part of a 5 man team.

To compliment my chosen profession I practice Krav Maga, enjoy kick boxing and arduous physical training sessions including gym work, boxercise, spinning and enjoy running.

I have found networking to be an essential way of introducing myself to potential employers, especially at networking events. In addition, working as security at events has been good for meeting other CPO’s and exchanging details.

Email: rachel.stojanovic@hotmail.co.uk If you you would like yourself or you company included in the Member Spotlight of the magazine please email us: info@circuit-magazine.com

19 : : Circuit

Circuit : : 19

Circuit :: Feature HERE’S SOMETHING YOU DON’T SEE EVERY DAY - A FREE FINANCIAL

Q: A:

SESSION

Why should I go for a chartered accountant? What are the benefits?

What other kind of accountants are there?

A chartered accountant is a fully qualified accountant; it is the most credible qualification which can be achieved by an accountant. All chartered accountants have studied for many years and passed rigorous exams to gain chartered status.

We also have to attend professional development courses to keep up to date with tax accounting legislation so that we can provide solid business and taxation advice.

There are other very credible qualifications, and some accountants in practice with no qualifications. Like most things you get what you pay for and the idea is that the tax savings which follow good tax planning offset the extra cost of a good accountant.

I have been asked to supply records of my accounts for the last 3 years but my previous accountant did not keep them. What should be the protocol so that I do not end up in this situation again? Do I get a copy and should they keep a copy? Is there anyway to address this?

You are required by law to keep your accounts and accounting records for a minimum of 6 years. Your accountant is not responsible for keeping your accounts, but I would have thought that any accountancy practice would retain copies of client’s accounts and their working papers for at least 6 years; we do!

Do I have to get an accountant to do my VAT or can I do that element myself? Does doing it myself create any problems? I am trying to keep costs down by doing this.

Keeping your own VAT records and submitting your own returns should not cause any problems at all. We often

Q: A:

Q: A:

20 : : Circuit

assist our clients with their first VAT returns until they are confident to complete them without our help. Providing you keep all your records and workings in good order with copies of your VAT returns for your accountant to use when they are preparing your accounts and in case of any VAT visits from HMRC. I know that you are probably going to say no but are there any software packages for accountancy that you would recommend for sole traders/small businesses? Are they worth it? I have seen some that cost many hundreds of pounds and look terribly complicated and do not want to waste my money if this is the case.

It really depends on the type and size of the business that you are running as to which accountancy package would best suit. There are some free software packages available that run on Excel spreadsheets which work quite well for very small businesses. You will normally find that the programmes themselves are not that expensive but it’s the cost of the software support that can be quite costly.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to discuss this matter further, and I might be able to point you in the right direction with a little more information about your business. My objective is to keep bookkeeping to a minimum to let clients get on at what they do best – making money doing productive work.

I have a business bank account which all of my money gets paid in to. I try to use money from this account for all of the outgoings for the business but sometimes due to cash flow [bad payers] I have no option but to transfer in money from my personal account. Is this ok or does it make the accounts look messy? I want to keep everything looking right but it is not always that easy.

There should be no issue with you transferring money from your personal account to help cash flow, just make sure you clearly flag the transaction as such so that it can be incorporated into your accounts correctly. It might also be a good

Q: A:

Q:

A:

idea to keep copies of your personal bank statements to show where the funds came from. Alternatives you may like to consider to help your cash flow would be a business credit card, or an arranged overdraft. I work closely with clients in this regard to help them approach the bank to acquire any necessary funding.

I am due to come back to the UK after working abroad as a non resident and therefore a non tax payer. Is there a best time to come back in to the country for taxation purposes? I don’t want to have to pay any tax on my overseas earnings as I have been extremely diligent about my days in country.

Strictly, you are taxed as a UK resident for the whole of a tax year when you are resident here for any part of it. But, if you leave or come to the UK part way through the tax year, the year may be split by concession (Extra Statutory Concession A11). This means that the UK Income Tax you should pay because you are resident here is calculated on the basis of the period you are living here rather than for the whole of that tax year. Feel free to contact me further and I can give you more details on the exact rules of the Concession and help you to apply them to your individual situation.

I am now out of work but paid tax most recently in the summer. When will I receive a rebate from HMRC? I am not claiming benefit at this time.

Your previous employer should have given you a p45 and if you start a new job before the end of the tax year then you should give your new employer the P45 and any overpaid tax will be refunded along with your wages. Alternatively, if you do not have any other taxable income during the tax year you can contact the tax office and request that they refund your overpayment directly.

Please note that they are unlikely to issue you a refund before the end of the tax year as they will need to know your total taxable income to calculate any over payment.

Q: A:

Q: A:

Send your finance questions to Jason Cheesman ACA, Partner at Mitchells Chartered Accountants specialising in delivering accountancy services to people working within the security industry 0191 416 4820 JC.mitchells.ca@btconnect.com

Circuit :: HardTalk

SURVEILLANCE DETECTION SEMINAR 19 July 2010 Insitute of Directors, London

by

NICK MCCARTHY

I

am a big believer that listening to experienced operators is one big beneficial way to expand your knowledge, so I was extremely happy to attend this particular seminar hosted by David Rubens in association with Ivor Terret. Both men are successful businessmen in their own right and well established in the security industry.

Both David and Ivor deliver various seminars, but I was particularly delighted to be able to attend their surveillance detection seminar as it is a subject that is close to my heart. The day was held at the Institute of Directors (IOD), London, England; an excellent venue if ever you have the need!

The day started with some informal coffee and biscuits and allowed the attendees to begin to do a little networking (always an important side effect at such outings). It was also possible at this stage to get to know David and Ivor, neither of whom I had met previously but who were excellent hosts throughout. I should at this point say that the access control at the IOD was excellent!

Once everyone was suitably refreshed David got the ball rolling with an excellent introduction on why we were here and also gave some background information on both himself and Ivor - this was enough for me to realise that both men were more than able hosts. The main message here was that everybody is involved in security and that if an opportunity exists for the terrorists then it is the fault of those providing the security.

We cannot influence the motivation of the terrorist but we can deny them control of territory by ‘owning’ every bit of land even down to a stairwell. Fair point I thought.

Once David had concluded his introduction

Ivor then gave us the agenda for the day.

We were introduced to lots of information, much of which was new to us (me anyway) and went on to discuss various case studies of successful attacks on various locations, which I found really interesting. Ivor took each incident in turn, discussed it and most impressively had first-hand knowledge of some of the incidents or accounts from those that were present. For me, never does a tale have more impact than if the lecturer can actually stand up and say “we do not do this like that anymore, because X did that and he is now dead”. The message here was that we must learn from the lessons of the past in order to prevent similar events reoccurring. Know your subject.

Ivor continued on, covering the importance of intelligence collection and how even the most innocuous of items can yield significant intelligence. He also covered the hostile planning cycle and suspicious indicators of attackers; both of these are essential learning and very interesting.

We then went on to cover both overt and covert protection and the difference between the two, and something that many people will not be familiar with, namely Red Teaming or penetration testing. Who should do it, how is it done? Red Teaming is a huge subject and something that is more commonplace than the reader may suspect.

This aspect of the discussion prompted much debate amongst our group and there was lots of scribbling of notes at this point and you could sense people were going to be going back to their respective organisations and asking what exactly was their policy on Red Teaming…..”are we subject to it? Are we carrying it out?”.

known but as was the theme with the whole day there was new information at every stage, which kept the audience engaged throughout.

The day had a nice balance to it as David and Ivor swapped roles with both keeping us interested with a variety of subjects, each one seeming more relevant than the previous one, yet flowing nicely from one to another. Systems and operations management anyone? Covert and overt protection? Is there a balance? The subject matter was vast but delivered in such a way that it was digestible by all so that you left feeling educated rather than brain dead with information overload, a trait of many a seminar as the lecturer tries to bamboozle the audience with their vast knowledge.

I have purposely not gone in to the detailed content of my day at the IOD with David and Ivor, for that you will have to attend a seminar yourself. I was not disappointed and do not think that you will be should you choose to pay them a visit yourself.

Operator, manager or business owners will all be able to learn from seminars such as this.

David Rubens has a thriving business in David Rubens Associates which offers a variety of services as well as training courses. You can find out more information by visiting www. davidrubens-associates.com Ivor Terret runs his own consultancy and specializes in consulting, training and operations as well as interesting developments with regards enterprise software and the security industry! For more information on Ivor Terret please visit www.multi-tier.com

Moving on, we discussed suspicious indicators of attackers, some of which was

Circuit : : 21

Circuit :: Feature

ROUGH INJUSTICE Philip Young

“My name is and I am a South African citizen

incarcerated in Afghanistan”

My incarceration is the result of an incident that took place in Helmand Province on the 1st of October 2009. The incident involved the fatal shooting, by me, of an Afghan citizen. The shooting came about when the deceased, Abdul Ghafar, took over, by force of arms and with the collaboration of 5 other guards, the Counter Narcotics base in Lashkar Gha. Abdul Ghafar was the Deputy Site Security Leader and had been dismissed – but was not immediately removed from the base. When I and the other expats, including the Site Security Leader, returned from a meeting at the local PRT, he confronted me and fired his weapon at me. I returned fire and he was fatally wounded.

T

by

PHILIP YOUNG

here were 2 witnesses to the shooting, an expat and an Afghan citizen. There were approximately 30 people on the base who were intimidated by Ghafar, guards were disarmed and the civilian staff - including employees of the Ministry of Counter Narcotics - were forced into offices and accommodation buildings and kept there, against their will at gunpoint.

Facts are ignored and Prosecutorial theories become’ evidence’ - The Primary Court, Appellate Court, and the Supreme Court all overwhelmingly agree that I acted in self defense and that Ghafor was a threat to my safety. Despite these written proclamations, more then a year after this incident I remain imprisoned in the cold, hard walls of Pulicharki Prison.

Subsequent to the shooting the Police “investigated” the incident.

During the course of this “investigation” vital evidence was moved and disappeared, witnesses were interviewed but any reference to my act as an act of self defense was ignored, statements were NOT taken from witnesses and those who were terrorized and threatened. In short, the Police “investigation” was not an investigation at all. The Police decided that I was guilty of a “crime”, ignored the evidence and witness testimony at the scene and arrested me.

Although over 30 witnesses to the actions of Ghafar and the 2 witnesses to the shooting were present, the Police only obtained a single statement – from one of the conspirators. The 5 conspirators who had taken part in the insurrection were released and I was held in detention, where I have been ever since.

The Judges in my case openly admitted to the failings and ignorance of Statutory and Sharia Law by the Prosecutors – then went ahead with the trial and conviction anyway. My conviction was based on the prosecutor’s theory that I committed murder – he presented no evidence to prove this. The Court accepted this theory as “evidence”.

I have had 3 “trials.” Most of Afghanistan’s Statutory Laws, Human Rights Law, International Law and Sharia Law, upon which the Afghan legal system is based, were either maliciously ignored - or knowingly broken. Afghan Law is based on Sharia Law and all other Statutory Laws, UN Conventions are subservient to Sharia Law. From my experience, there is a substantial difference between Afghan Law and ‘common practice’ within the legal system. Laws are willfully and purposefully ignored in order for the members of the “Legal System” deciding and investigating which includes Police, Prosecutors, and Judges to achieve a conviction. Do not expect fairness, logic or any form of even-handed approach. Both the Judiciary and local Afghan Defense Attorneys do what they are used to doing and this is often NOT in accordance with the prescribed Laws or Procedures.

22 : : Circuit

The Afghan legal system is in its infancy - The Afghan legal system is based on sound principals. It is in execution that things go awry.

Judges, prosecutors and even local defense attorneys have no real grasp of the principles and purpose of the Law. Emotions - rather than the Law, careful thought and consideration of evidence - rule conduct and decisions. My US attorney, Kimberley Motley, who is representing me, was told by a Supreme Court Justice that the courts did not like defense attorneys as they “defend guilty people”! He was quite comfortable making that statement not only to my attorney – but did so in front of a reporter from the Washington Post. This fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the Judiciary and the role of defense attorneys is pervasive and at every level within the Judiciary. Judges and Prosecutors believe that they are there merely to sentence.

There is no assumption of innocence - guilt is always assumed: When you are arrested and brought before the Court, the Judiciary accepts that you are guilty. The assumption is: If you are NOT guilty – why did the Police arrest you and why are you here? This was exemplified in that exact question being put to me by the initial Prosecutor in my case. According to Sharia Law, Afghan Constitution Article 25, ICPC Article 4, and several UN Conventions to

Circuit :: HardTalk

“The assumption is: -

not guilty Why did the police arrest you and why are you here?”

If you are

which Afghanistan is a signatory I am entitled to a presumption of innocence. My final sentence of 7 years was handed down to me by a judiciary in the Supreme Court named the Committee of Punishments – there is no presumption of innocence.

Any acknowledgement is accepted as a confession - I acknowledged that I had fired my weapon. However, acknowledging that I had fired at Ghafar and that he had died as a result is accepted as a confession to murder. In fact, the Appeal Court Judge, who subsequently sentenced me to 16 years asserted this in his sentencing summation. He stated that I “confessed” to murder which was a not true. I did not confess to killing Ghafor. My statement mentioned that I fired my weapon and then later that I saw that he was dead. Not once, in conversation or written statement, did I say that I “killed” Ghafar. There is no difference, in Farsi, between the word for murder and the word for kill. So you are simply classed as a murderer.

There is no Judicial oversight - Judges, Prosecutors and Police can pretty much do as they please, ignore whatever laws they deem “irrelevant”, do so openly - and there is nothing you can do about it. There is an appeal process that can be followed – as I have. However, I found the higher Court, in particular - the Appeal Court - to be even more prejudiced and malicious in ignoring evidence and Afghan Law, than the lower Courts. So who, in reality, are you appealing to? The very people and system you are appealing for recourse to, are often worse than the people and process below them.

The Courts will not listen or pay any attention - Do not assume that the Judge has even read your case. Do not assume that he has gone over the evidence or even knows what is in the file. When you enter the Court, it is quite likely that the decision has already been made and the “trial” is merely to satisfy the façade of a working Judiciary.

Assume the Judge knows little or nothing of the facts – but has a preconceived opinion anyway.

You WILL be convicted and jailed - irrespective of the circumstances: When a person dies, particularly an Afghan citizen, irrespective of whether that person attacked you and the circumstances, you will be jailed and you will be sentenced. This is one of the “common practice” failings within the Judiciary. While Art.62 of the ICPC provides for self defense, it is seldom, if ever, applied – and never to “foreigners”. Irrespective of circumstances and the actions of the person you have killed.

So what can you learn from my experience? The following I would deem the most valuable lessons: • Keep your passport and any other travel docs with you at all time and enough cash to get out of the country. Should you be involved in a shooting – get out! Immediately. Do not hesitate for a minute. Take whatever flight you can to wherever you can – as long as it is out of Afghanistan. This may not appear to be politically correct advice, after all, we are expected to abide by the laws of the country we work in. However, when the legal

system is as dysfunctional, biased and corrupt as the one in Afghanistan, relying upon it as a means to achieve justice – or even respecting its edicts - would be foolish in the extreme.

• Do not, under any circumstances, rely on your embassy. They will not protect you or provide you any assistance at all. Embassies may not, generally, affect or get involved in the judiciary or ‘sovereignty’ of the host nation. They will be unmoved by any human rights abuses, other than actual physical harm – and even then, do not expect them to do anything more than write a polite letter expressing their “concern” to the authorities.

• If the Police get to the scene or you are arrested – say NOTHING! And I mean that in the purest essence of the word. The only thing you say is: “I have nothing to say. I want a lawyer.”

Repeat this like a mantra. Say absolutely nothing else. No matter what they say - or the threats they make.

• DO NOT leave the scene for the Police to “investigate”. They WILL adjust the scene to suit them and they WILL conceal or destroy evidence that may help your case. Insist that you, or other expats, stay on the scene until the Police have completed their “investigation”. Get names of Police Investigators, make notes from the very beginning – about EVERYTHING! Write down or sketch where everything is and watch the Police like they are the enemy – because ultimately, they are.

• Expect to be betrayed. The Police tend to simply arrest everyone at the scene. Your best buddy will turn on you to ensure he is not arrested or will do so to get out of jail. Expect it. Do not discuss your case, your defense or defense strategy with anyone but your lawyer.

• Get help – fast. Your company will have to support you. They will be liable and have, at a minimum, a duty of care. Do not let them abandon you – insist on help. If they are - or are contractors or subcontractors to - any US company, they can be held liable for your position –irrespective of your nationality. They have a duty of care towards you and should provide you with an attorney, legal support and other ‘comfort’ support. They should continue to pay you, irrespective of the time you are required to spend in prison.

• DO NOT trust the advice of your local Afghan attorney – check it, get a second opinion - ask other prisoners and the senior Police officers in the prison, they will advise you too. Often the advice is good – and in direct contradiction to that of your local attorney.

The Courts have all accepted that I acted in self defense – yet here I sit having been convicted and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment by the Supreme Court! I may be nothing more then a brief entertaining story to you while you are waiting for a dental appointment, but this is my life. If you would like to support my cause please visit Justice 4 Philip Young Facebook page at http://www.facebook. com/group.php?gid=169459004518&v=wall

Circuit : : 23

by

DAVID RUBENS

THE NEWS

that two explosive devices originating in Yemen were recently found on cargo planes will have come as no surprise to security experts familiar with current national security issues, or even to those who have an interest in terrorism and public policy and who know little more than what they read in their daily newspapers.

The emergence of Yemen as a stand-alone centre of Al Qaeda activities has been widely reported, and the fact that the resources available to Yemeni groups include not only a highly educated and articulate western-educated leadership (often with high-level support from Saudi Arabia, America’s closest ally in the Arab world), but also a strong cohort of radicalised westerners, fully capable of returning to their homelands carrying both the jihadi fervour and the technical capability necessary to deliver what might be low-level but nevertheless high impact attacks, suggests that these explosives will not be the last such attempts to regain the initiative in the on-going battle between jihadi groups and western security and intelligence agencies.

However, there have been a number of issues highlighted by the most recent incidents that suggests that western governments (and in particular the US and UK) have learned lessons from previous such incidents, and have developed (or at least, are in the process of developing) a new approach to the continued threat of international terrorism, one that is more in keeping with both the

changed political rhetoric and the financial constraints which inform the reality ten years after 9/11.

ALARMISTS VS PRAGMATISTS On a doctrinal level, the War on Terror (a phrase which has been officially de-recognised in both Washington and London), has always been one fought between the Alarmists and the Pragmatists. The Alarmists have built their world view on the fact that the threat posed by international Islamic terrorism is of a scale and nature unique in modern human history, and that therefore there is a requirement to by-pass the traditional western democratic tools of ‘rule by consensus’, which are seen as preventing the authorities from being able to respond to the terrorist threat in an effective and meaningful way.

This, coupled with the already unilateralist platform put forward by Bush’s senior advisors (principally Cheney and Rumsfeld, but with a well-developed network of political and academic supporters united through their vision for the ‘New American Century Project’), led to the situation where the battle to preserve western democratic values was itself built on the need to bury exactly those self-same values in the name of democratic freedom.

The Pragmatists, on the other hand, understand that rather than being a world-wide network of some SMERSHlike super-villains, Al Qaeda (and its subsidiary groups that have emerged into the light, often in an attempt to gain media coverage and international sponsorship rather than from any particularly deep-rooted jihadi belief), is an amorphous group that has changed and adapted according to the wider political and security environment within which it is operating, and which depends, to an extent that is often over-looked by even the most informed observer, almost entirely on the ill-judged actions of the US and UK governments to act as its chief recruitment agency.

It was no surprise when senio responded to claims by variou Gordon Brown (at that time P Foreign secretary) and David C Pakistan should do more to re territory, by pointing out that who were creating the proble based preachers who were of radicalising the next generatio

According to the Pragmatists, AQ as a world-threatening mo would be more accurate to se organisation in name only, wit mainly consisting of self-radic skins’ who had little if any con terrorism, and who are theref the radar’, without coming to national and international sec agencies.

The Pragmatists see the War o name it is fought), as being m or the War on Crime, in that it and is therefore never ending on Terror is that current secur any plot that involves a high le with the associated logistical m communications, money trans the other mundane issues invo from drawing board to deliver impossible for such activity to to the attention of the author stage in proceedings. It is in fa security statements concernin plots that the announcement the revelation that the plotter surveillance for some time, an chance of them being able to

or Pakistani officials us UK leaders, including PM), David Miliband (then Cameron (current PM) that ein in terrorism on their t it was UK-born Muslims em in the UK, and it was UKften most responsible for on of suicide bombers.

, rather than accepting onolithic organisation, it ee it as little more than an th its ground-level activists calising and self-taught ‘clean nnection with international fore able to operate ‘under o the attention of the various curity and intelligence

on Terror (by whichever much like the War on Drugs t is by its nature unwinnable, g. The reality of the War rity capability is such that evel of coordination, management issues of sfer, meetings and all of olved in getting a plan ry, means that it is almost o take place without coming rities at a relatively early act a characteristic of recent ng suspected terrorist of their discovery includes rs had in fact been under nd that there was little, if any deliver a successful attack.

The truth, according to the Pragmatists, is that since 9/11 there have only been two successful attacks in Europe – the train bombings of Madrid and London, and compared with the fatalities caused by tobacco-and alcohol-related deaths or deaths caused by motoring offences, these should be considered as part of the ‘normal’ price of living in the modern world. It is a sign of the changing language of counter terrorism that President Obama was able to publicly state that the US was able to ‘absorb a terrorist attack’ – which shows that he is in tune with the realities of CT management, though not necessarily with what might be considered acceptable within the framework of US political debate.

CHANGING PARAMETERS: 2009 vs 2010 The outstanding characteristic of the reaction to the latest scare is the muted nature of the response. Whereas the Abdulmutallab incident (otherwise known as the Underpants Bomber, on the Delta Airline flight on Christmas Day 2009) was a call for a massive injection of new funding and technology (full-body screeners), the reaction to this attack has been to call for a debate as to how more effective security cover can be delivered to what has until now been a largely- ignored aspect of international commerce, the thousands of cargo flights that are made every day into all of the major airports of the world. Although this is undoubtedly as much to do with the realities of cutbacks and budget cuts, it is also a reflection of the realisation that there is no ‘silver bullet’ that will guarantee safety and disarm all potential terrorist attacks in one easy solution. (For a detailed analysis of the security issues raised by the Abdulmutallab incident, please contact DRA for our Abdulmutallab report).

Although it has been claimed that the bomb-maker Ibrahim Al-Asiri was the same person behind both the latest bombs and the Abdulmutallab device, the obvious truth is that they didn’t explode, and that no damage was

done.

It is clear that it is not as easy as one would think to deliver a viable explosive device onto a plane – if it was, the likelihood is that it would have happened a lot more than has been the case. It is also true that even had they exploded, and a tragedy had been triggered, it would have been a tragedy of a single incident, not a threat to the continued existence of the modern world order.

An oft-repeated truism that has been heard from too many ‘authorities’ over the last few days is that the purpose of terrorism is to create terror. I have been saying for ten years that that is not the case, and that in fact the purpose of terrorism is to create a disproportionate reaction in the target government, which in itself will then lead to a cycle of oppressive reaction, alienation, polarisation and eventually self-fulfilling radicalisation.

From the terrorists’ point of view, the best thing that could happen would be for the US to exert political pressure on the Yemen government to ‘crack down’ on AQ affiliates within the country, leading almost inevitably to an indiscriminate targeting of government opponents, and acting as a catalyst for increased radicalisation across the region. What should happen, at least in the immediate term, is for this incident to be treated as another act of criminal intent, for the perpetrators to be identified and arrested, and for the due process of justice to take its course.

For further reports, or to discuss the contents, please contact David Rubens david@davidrubens-associates.com

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NTANCY WHAT’S IN YOUR Circuit :: OnTheJob

“GO BAG” PART 2 In the world of Executive Protection we all know that you have to be able to fly out the door on very little notice. We don’t always have the luxury of packing for the mission at hand, lets face it, we don’t always know what that mission is, so to steal a motto from a very reputable organization, “Be Prepared”.

When talking about the bag itself, we have to understand that the equipment we carry is only as good as the bag we carry it in. There are a million manufacturers out there that make a million and a half styles of bag. Like the majority of the topics covered in my columns, I am going to talk about what works for me. Take my advice for what it is, and I hope it will help you along the road to deciding what you need in this close protection tool.

by

JUSTIN JOHNSON

F

irst and foremost the bag you have needs to be able to hold the kit you are carrying. With that said, you often don’t need a military duffle bag strapped to your back that screams “OPERATOR”. A nice medium sized backpack or sling bag works wonders to carry all the day-to-day items you may need. Too big and it becomes both bulky and a pain to carry, too small and you start sacrificing items that both you and/or your Principal might need over the course of an assignment. Nothing is worse than getting a request from the Client or Detail Leader and having to run back to the vehicle, or hotel room (or further) to obtain, and of course if you are working as a Solo Operator, who has eyes on the Principal?

I also suggest either a backpack or sling bag for a reason: If you are carrying a duffle bag with you everywhere you go then likely that is a hand that is taken up when you are on the move. What if you need both your hands to fend off an attacker? If the bag is strapped to your back that suddenly is a non-issue. We all know that a controversial topic in the EP world: the subject on if we should carry a client’s bags or not? Regardless on how you weigh in, if you did need to carry something for the client, how much more difficult is that while you have your own gear in one hand? (I think I just thought of an idea for a future article).

Another consideration to keep in mind is the color and style of the bag itself. Digital Camo has its place in some environments like high-risk Details in the sand box, but not so much on a red carpet

in Hollywood, or a corporate boardroom. A nice subdued black or other neutral color works for pretty much all occasions. I have an all-black multi pocket Under Armor backpack that has served me well in a variety of situations across the globe.

Also keep in mind function when packing your bag. Exterior pockets work well for specifics that you may need (like a dedicated medical pouch). Always pack with the thought “what will I need first”? Packing should be as functional as the bag itself -- put the things you need first in the optimal positions on the bag where you can get to them the fastest. In addition, train yourself to be consistent with your packing: much like carrying a firearm, put it in the same place every time and on that occasion, when you need an item urgently, muscle memory takes over.

Lastly, pack mission specific. Do you think you are going to need a bag full of cold weather gear if you are going to spend the week on Miami’s South Beach in July? This also goes hand in hand with knowing your Principal. Is she is a world famous recording artist with screaming fans, will she sign autographs? If the client has to stop at the airport and then extend the exposure as an excited teen searches for a pen, how much more effective is it if you have one at the ready? Don’t wait till the call goes out to start planning what you are going to throw into your bag, because Murphy’s Law will likely be in effect, and you’ll forget something essential.

Next go round I will be putting a focus on building a proper medical kit for the Go-Bag, until then… Stay Safe…

Circuit : : 27

Circuit :: ShopTalk

CONSULTANTS What now?

by

CHRISTOPHER BURMAN-DAY

A

ccording to Schedule 2 on the PSIA, security consultancy is defined as “The giving of advice about the taking of security precautions in relation to any risk to property or the person or the acquisition of any services involving the activities of a security operative.” So, quite vague then?

The Collins Dictionary states a Consultant is an “adviser, authority, specialist; a specialist who gives expert professional advice”.

Both definitions imply, and indeed state a given level of knowledge; they do not quantify what level of knowledge is required.

It may equally be argued that a Consultant is merely an agent for change, contracted to advise and provide direction while facilitating development at a strategic level; if so how can this be regulated? And how can those likely to be subject to any regulation ensure that they are in a position to comply if and when licensing comes along?

The fact is that the term consultant has for too long been banded about to imply a given level of expertise without any recognised standards or level of knowledge (experience); since the advent of the PSIA it has been used by many likely to be unable to secure an SIA license due to the vetting and screening requirement, and thus has provided a loophole for some to avoid the sweeping brush of licensing.

There are valid arguments on both sides of the licensing debate. For the most part there seems to be an acceptance that a minimum level of training and some form of regulation in front-line sectors is beneficial; however many involved in protective security have questioned the way in which the training standards have been applied to close protection. Due to the popularly understood difference between the ranges of skills involved in close protection set against the minimum training requirement many are questioning this process. Unlike Manned Guards or Door Supervisors, CPO’s are likely to have a larger tool bag with which to carry out their duties. Similarly the Security Consultant.

The industry itself cannot agree on the issue of consultant licensing. Let alone what

28 : : Circuit

The licensing of consultants was always going to be a contentious subject. The PSIA 2001 requires the licensing of all those involved in the provision of security services; as a result the SIA has spent a number of years in what it calls a “consultation phase”. In 2007 the conclusion of the consultation was a likely delay of any licensing until late 2010. The SIA stated “The main argument supporting this postponement was that there is little or no evidence of risk to the public.”

In the last month we have had confirmation of rumours that the coalition government is to either scrap or amalgamate a number of quango’s, the SIA among them. While this does not change the need for licensing front line operators such as close protection officers; due to the requirement under the PSIA; where does this leave those individuals operating at a more strategic level? makes a credible security consultant. Some argue that a consultant is someone who as a result of many years of on the ground experience is able to provide advice and recommendations in the full scope of the diverse range of available security solutions; however in a world of increasing compliance and credibility across wider industry, does the practical only approach tick all boxes?

Additionally, at what level of accumulated knowledge of each security solution is it decided that their “many years” is enough?

Others may argue that the ideal path is that of combining experience of security solutions and equally important business management, with a parallel path of professional and academic education. In taking this path you offer a demonstrable experience of the solutions offered, giving a recognised level of education equivalent to that which the client expects from its management professionals (often of degree calibre) and an accepted professional understanding of relevant management tasks such as project or service management through PRINCE2 or ITIL certification.

This combined approach to development may also become the preferred path for individuals involved in security management; because surely a consultant is a manager that is either self-employed and advises multiple clients, or is employed specifically to provide advice to third parties?

Licensing or certifying those involved in advising on these issues will continue to

prove a complex issue, irrespective of the future of the SIA. Consultants today are a broad mix of the able, the experienced, the proven and the less so, with licensing one way of eliminating the “less so” and regulating the remaining. But how do we draw accepted standards for such a broad industry spectrum; those consulting on technical issues such as CCTV and IDS hold different skill sets to those advising on protective security or loss prevention.

While a 20 year career in investigative policing will likely place you well to offer advice on fraud and loss prevention, it does not qualify an individual as a security consultant. Likewise what understanding of physical security measures is held by an individual from an accounting background?

Again, likely to have a strong understanding of fraud and compliance, but 10 years in business a finance degree and professional qualifications does not make them a security consultant.

Combining skills and experience with proven levels of training and education may become the preferred route to credibility and ultimately compliance. There can be no doubt that the debate will continue and the more we discuss the options for development within the industry the more likely we are to be in a better place to guide and direct any proposed standards going forward.

Circuit :: Feature

Working Girl by

JACQUIE DAVIS

Standing in a London park on a cold November morning waiting for the rest of my surveillance team to arrive for a briefing I noticed a large van arrive followed by a Mercedes car. It was 06:30am and the wind was getting up and the temperature seemed to drop by the minute, lucky I had put my thermals on.

O

ut of the van stepped eight persons all suited and shiny booted, they proceeded to stand around the Merc in formation whilst an instructor taught them embus and de-bus techniques.

As more and more of team of old sweats on the circuit arrived they all made the same comment. “Poor bastards they are all after a CP license thinking they will immediately get CP jobs, when the reality is half of them would be lucky to get RST jobs”.

The comments made me think long and hard about our industry and on recently hearing the SIA is to be disbanded, I hope we don’t go back to the old days of door men and minders but can find a better way forward which does not include allowing all and sundry to do a CP course.

Firstly it is expensive and some students will never make the grade, others are sent by the job centre so the DWP can tick the I’ve sent you on a course so it looks good on my statistics box, even though the candidate may have a criminal

record and is therefore ineligible for a license any way.

Seeing people on the circuit working day in and day out trying to earn a living in these poor economic times can be tough, but until we say stop, nothing will ever change.

For those of you working in London at the moment be aware that the Eastern European beggars and pick pockets are working hard outside Harrods to ail themselves of your Principal’s purse or handbag. I had to physically push two of them into the traffic the other day after a quiet Foxtrot Oscar in their ears didn’t work. Sadly a bus wasn’t coming down the road at the time, my Principal was blissfully unaware of the altercation, which was how it should be.

For those of you working over the holiday season, good luck and think of the money, don’t forget the circuit dies in January.

Stay safe Jacquie Davis www.jacquiedavis.com

Jacquie Davis is Director of Protective Services at Greymans Inc. www.greymans.com Circuit : : 29

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Counter Terror Expo delivers both focus and clarity to the complex and multifaceted task of protecting people and assets from those with the intent to do harm.

This critically acclaimed event provides a vital forum for debate and plays a key role at the epicentre of the development of future counter-terrorism strategy.

Unique, dedicated exhibition showcasing counter terrorism and specialist security technologies High level conference with six streams featuring over 200 leading international speakers Over 120 free-to-attend technology and practical workshops Live product capability demonstrations Meet the buyer programme Networking functions For more information please contact: Nicola Greenaway t: + 44 (0) 208 542 9090 e: nicola.greenaway@clarionevents.com w: www.counterterrorexpo.com

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Circuit :: ShopTalk

COUNTER THE

SCOURGE C

ounter Terror Expo is the annual event for professionals tasked with delivering a formidable and highly effective response to the threat presented by international terrorism.

Developed specifically to provide a secure environment in which those within the vitally important counter-terrorism arena can come together to share experience and gain knowledge, this event brings both focus and clarity to the complex and multifaceted task of protecting people and assets from those with the intent and determination to strike out.

Counter Terror Expo delivers a centrepiece conference programme, showcase exhibition and extensive programme of highly specialised workshops.

Counter Terror Expo’s carefully researched conference programme brings world renowned issue specific experts together to deliver insight, analysis and perspective to the threats faced, across four conference streams developed annually to reflect the most critical issues and deliver clear focus for debate.

The showcase exhibition brings the world’s leading industrialists together to display and demonstrate the counter-measure tools available to professionals in the field, as well as to discuss future requirement with governmental strategists and discover refinement from those at the sharp end in delivering counter-measures in the operational environment.

Counter Terror Expo’s carefully crafted programme of educational workshops brings the world leading industry experts together with end users to deliver an indepth understanding of the strategic use of technology in clearly defined operational scenarios.

With the threat from international terrorism remaining at a significantly high level and those with the desire, intent and means to do harm proving to be nimble adversaries, this critically acclaimed event delivers a vital forum for debate and plays a key role at the epicentre of the development of future counter-terrorism strategy.

Counter Terror Expo continually evolves to reflect the ever changing dynamics of the counter-terrorism world. Delegates and visitors at the next event will gain unique

insight into deployment and utilisation of exhibited hardware, particularly in the field of EOD/IEDD operations, through live and interactive demonstrations in a specially constructed and open plan theatre at the heart of the exhibition floor.

Such innovative concepts deliver added value to exhibitors, delegates and visitors and mark this event out as a creative powerhouse delivering a constructive environment in which to address many of the most intractable problems in the counter-terrorism world.

Counter Terror Expo is held annually in the prestigious Grand Hall of the Olympia Exhibition & Conference Centre in London.

The two-day event brings over 200 internationally renowned experts in their respective fields, together with more than 400 industrialists and regularly attracts in excess of 7000 delegates and visitors.

Counter Terror Expo will next be held 19-20 April 2011.

“In bringing the world’s leading experts in the field from within government, the armed forces, security services, law enforcement and academia, together with industrialists at the cutting edge in developing the tools necessary to combat the scourge of terrorism, the event has become the mission critical annual gathering of professionals in this field.”

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THE FUTURE

I

t is now something of an open secret that the coalition government had wanted to abolish the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and deregulate the industry. It was only the reaction to the documents leaked to the BBC by a number of security industry bodies that influenced the government. The current situation is that the SIA will be subject to a “phased transition to a new regulatory regime”.

The first thing that should be stressed to any individuals or companies operating in the licensed sector of the security industry is that it is BUSINESS AS USUAL, probably for at least the next couple of years, maybe longer. Licences will still need to be held and renewed when necessary.

The fact that the government reacted to industry opinion is good. The second potentially positive outcome is the coming together of various industry groups under the banner of The Security Alliance. Membership of the Security Alliance includes ASIS, the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), International Professional Security Association (IPSA), The Security Institute, the NSI, SSAIB, Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, Skills for Security, City of London Crime Prevention Association and representatives of the Scottish security industry and is supported by representatives of the security media.

Other organisations will no doubt join over time. The initial meeting of the Alliance had a very positive and constructive tone which hopefully will continue. It would a great shame if the good intentions deteriorated into a power struggle between interest groups.

One possible, perhaps likely, outcome of the changes is that all organisations

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OF

SECURITY REGULATION by

MIKE HURST

offering security services may have to be registered and meet certain minimum standards: although those standards will probably not be prohibitively high. There are about 650 companies operating under the SIA Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS): and plenty of others who are operating well run businesses outside of ACS. The fact is though that no one knows how many companies there are in the security services industry and a register may further assist in keeping criminal elements out and standards up The arguments may occur, when it comes to deciding who issues the licences.

Should registered companies have the ability to issue their licences to their own employees? Should licensing be controlled by an industry-run body; a government department; the police; or perhaps a mix of all of them? Who should be responsible for ensuring CRB and right to work checks are done? The criminality checks are particularly difficult when individuals have come to the UK from other countries.

Another issue is training. Anecdotally, there is a huge gulf between the organisations offering the best training and those who will train and pass anyone.

Stories abound of people undergoing training and then being given the answers to fill in at the end. Or people sitting the

exams accompanied by someone who can translate the questions and answers for them. The issue of ensuring all licensed individuals are trained to a high standard is one I feel the new regulatory regime should treat as a high priority.

However, as I said before this will be a long process and we do not have to come up with a solution tomorrow. We have the Olympics and Commonwealth games on the horizon and any changes may not come into effect until after these events. What we do have to do soon, is to think and talk, and hopefully, start to form a consensus.

It will not be possible to please every individual in the sector. I doubt very much whether it will be possible to please every organisation, but hopefully over the coming months and years we can agree on a way forward that encourages professionalism in the industry and trust in the public consciousness.

Mike Hurst is Vice Chairman – Strategy of ASIS International in the UK. ASIS (www.asis.org. uk www.asisonline.org) is a security membership organisation with 37,000 members world-wide. It promotes training, certification, standards and networking. The Certified Protection Professional (CPP) certification is held by 6,500 people internationally and is recognised by Buckinghamshire New University as an element of its postgraduate and MSc level qualifications in Security and Risk Management.

ASIS meetings often attract over 100 leading security practitioners to hear some excellent presentations by subject matter experts. For details, please contact Mike Hurst mike@hja. co.uk .

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BLOOD SWEAT AND YEARS

The Israeli Approach to cope better with Homeland Security issues During the years 2001-2004 Israel faced a dramatic increase in suicide terror attacks in public areas (as many as 10-12 events monthly). Since 2005 there has been a massive reduction, such terror on the city streets of Israel and its roots have been mitigated and rolled back on a very large scale. Let us look at how Israel has managed to cope with and counter this terrible threat and analyse in particular one of the key factors in this fight, the role of private security organisations, in the greater security system.

by

A

mong the reasons for Israel’s tremendous ability to cope with such daily threats, we can identify four main traits which have strengthened our resilience in the face of the unrelenting terror and violence that has plagued us for so long.

Firstly is the presence of a strong leadership which has shown in the past that it can put aside differences to steer the nation and give them strength when the security of the nation as a whole is at risk.

Secondly the Israeli homeland security apparatus (Police, Military and other Security Services) is well trained and well equipped to deal with contemporary threats quickly and effectively.

Thirdly is the civilian population itself.

Israeli citizens have all done military service and their level of preparedness aided in quick and effective response to acts of violence, minimizing their effect, aiding in recovery afterwards and even contributing to outright prevention.

Their support for the leadership’s solutions enabled us all to find the

DAVID MIRZA

strength to withstand and overcome terror and violence at its worst. The fourth factor is the presence of a very involved and dynamic private security sector that fills in the gaps where the government cannot and contribute to completing a solid and steady line against threats to the Israeli public.

We will now expand on this somewhat unique involvement of the private sector in homeland security. Because of the situation in Israel there are many private security companies especially because security is required for any place in which large groups of people may gather. This security needs to cope not only with the traditional petty crime that their counterparts outside of Israel have but also with the threat of terrorism in its various forms and even attacks on the home front during a war. Serious terrorist attacks have often been thwarted not by police or Special Forces but by an observant security guard on the ground.

In order to act effectively the relationship between private security companies and the government has had to become very

open and very mutually inclusive. Private security companies are informed by police intelligence briefs of potential threats, all private security training is government regulated, government emergency and natural disaster plans are designed to factor in the private companies and their employees. A good example can be the recent Homeland Security drill held in Israel where the entire country underwent a simulated ballistic missile attack. Private security guards evacuated civilians from public areas, coordinated rescue services and police forces as well as worked under them when the situation called for it.

Cooperation between private security companies and government security entities can be a great asset to the function of both as well as being able to provide better protection for human life which is essentially the greatest goal for all to strive towards.

Governments and private security companies in other countries should be encouraged to enter such a beneficial relationship and do away with much of the antagonism and perceived competition that exists between them.

As we experienced here the correct balance of roles is a result of much trial and error but a commitment by both sides will ensure a better living environment for all and a more effective counter to those who choose to threaten the tranquility of that environment.

This analysis was carried out by Mr. David Mirza, Founder and CEO of the International Security Academy - Israel, which provides solutions for domestic security related issues and Shane Goodson, an International Security Academy coordinator.

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THE MODERN SAMURAI A

sent to do these special jobs were sent by few hundred years ago in

by DAVID MIRZA organizations that saw the need for such the western world there Protection specialists as a force multiplier for were those who chose the protection of their assets in hostile environments. These special to serve in the protection of their employers and Protection operatives provide a great service to their countries by they were called “Musketeers”. In the Far East, protecting national interests across the globe. they were known as “Samurai”. No matter what Governments send them for their convenience and cost they were called, all knew the definition of their effectiveness. But we don’t want to officially acknowledge our profession and their duties: to keep their Patrons desperate need for them. They fight alongside and in most cases safe and secure wherever they went.

Many romantic stories and legends were told about these unique individuals and in most of these stories they were described as the bravest of warriors, heroes or supermen. This profession created an aura around those who chose to specialize and live by the rules of the field. It is one of the oldest professions in the world.

This sector gave society a few norms of behaviour that gained high respect and honour from its communities.

In the 21st century, those who deal with the protection of their employers are called Bodyguards, Close Protection Operatives, and VIP/Executive Protection Specialists. More recently, they have been called PSD Operators and Personal Security Details/ Detachments because of their deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan which have become known as the most dangerous areas for VIPs (not necessary heads of state).

These specially trained and highly skilled personnel are hired to protect individuals or assets of organizations that operate in High-Risk environments like Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and South America.

The massive changes that globalization has brought to all areas of life has also created grave concerns for both personal safety and the protection of investments located in critical areas around the globe.

Security therefore, has taken the forefront in international, governmental and corporate strategies. A significant lack of sufficiently secure and safe conditions prevents and even jeopardizes economic developments, and nowadays even sports events carry the label “Mission Impossible”.

The need for qualified Protection Operatives capable of providing services related to the protection of assets (sensitive installations) and VIPs such as experts, engineers, journalists, UN employees and even cargo ship’s crews has increased tremendously.

Today, due to the high demand and need to privatize certain functions of government to the civilian workforce, this specialized field of protection services has become one of the fastest growing sectors. Countries, companies and organizations worldwide are currently reestablishing themselves in order to fill the void in the security field.

The Protection specialists who were

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even protect military personnel in these hostile zones.

So why do we not support them, respect their efforts, their great contribution to our society by providing a service to our countries that no one else will take responsibility to do?

Instead of supporting them we call them “Soldiers of Fortune or Mercenaries” and any other name that we can think of without stopping to realize that they did not create or start the conflict.

Instead, they are only there to help. Our elected officials are the people who started the conflict.

Do we dislike them now because they are paid for their services, perform everyday in environments that we only see in our worst nightmares, by showing us how cowardly we really are by not helping our own countries, or because we do not want to cope with very real knowledge that they get the job done even when the military can’t?

Do we fear the trauma that many of them suffer just as military personnel do? Why do we fear them so?

We place them in a category that will calm our own fears without realizing that they have helped with that calming effect, yet they still have nightmares and fears well after they return from the violent abyss that we sent them to.

A prime example of such defamation of security contractors and protection specialists can be seen in the media, particularly in the recent movie “The A-Team” where protection operatives, clearly allegorical to a well known PMC, are portrayed as murderers and traitors to their country (performing acts such as killing US Generals). This is a ridiculous and damaging portrayal and it should not be allowed to happen even for mere entertainment purposes in a movie.

If you agree with this analysis please join our protest against this movie and against the media’s negative portrayal of private security and close protection operatives in general who are putting their lives at risk for the well-being of others.

This analysis was carried out by David Mirza, Founder and CEO of the International Security Academy - Israel, which operates practical training centres for improving and enhancing the mental and physical functions of Protection Management and Personnel worldwide and had the honour to train and enhance few thousands of these protection operatives during the years 2004 - 2010. www.SecurityAcademy.com

Circuit :: Feature

KEEPING YOUR EDGE Understanding the Brand of YOU

A

re you a hunter or a gatherer?

Much like the natural world, in the world of business plays by a familiar set of laws when it comes to one individuals success over another: Adapt.

Improvise. Overcome. Evolve.

they are engaging in the time honored art of Brand Building.

One reason the strong survive is because they are well fed, and therefore are better equipped to meet the next attack. The weak get pushed to the back of the line for scraps and are first to go down when renewed conflict ensues. Sure they might be able to hold on, but in each battle, they get weaker and weaker as the strong consolidate their supplies.

While that might sound harsh, this story plays out time and again in the Close Protection Industry, and I am not speaking about in a high-risk assignment in war torn Afghanistan. Instead I’m speaking about the corporate battlefield, one that inevitably an Operator must face when they decide to go into business for themselves either as a start up agency or an independent contractor.

combination of these employed in creating

Whether by choice or necessity the entrepreneur spirit is alive and well in the Executive Protection Community.

Jump on any of the major watering holes (including the NABA & BBA websites) and in most members signature lines after their name more often than not, you will see an agency name from ACME to ZULU, each one different than the next.

Even if it’s on a subconscious level, men and women in our profession realize that in order to succeed in the competitive EP marketplace they must distinguish themselves to competitors as well as potential clients and employers, in essence

Let’s start with the definition of a Brand: BusinessDicitionary.com defines it as a: “Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a an image that identifies the service or product from it’s competitors. Over time, this becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality and satisfaction. Brands help harried consumers in a crowded and complex marketplace by standing in for certain benefits and value. “ So therefore, Brand Building is the act of increasing a brand’s value through active campaigning. It also plays a part indirectly when the individual supports a cause or sponsors an organization or event.

I know, right now you’re asking yourself, “How the heck does this apply to bodyguards?” Well in 2011, it’s more important than ever to establish yourself as a brand. Remember the definition included “…crowded & complex marketplace”? That’s our industry in a nutshell, so one way to be successful is to define yourself so that others can say, “Oh yeah, that’s the guy who does…” or “I remember her from the networking event”. The difficult part is that the Close Protection industry is one that by default is private and subdued. We don’t talk about clients, we don’t tell others what we do, we try and stay out of photos. For many it is very hard to balance doing the job with letting others know who you are so that

J

ELI AH SH AW you can get the NEXT job.

When I discuss Branding with students of my training courses, I use an example of McDonalds -- one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. If you didn’t know me and I mentioned that I was hungry, and could you grab me a burger with no other information, 7 out of 10 persons would stop at McDonald’s (particularly in the US). The reasoning for this is not because the home of the red haired clown makes a particularly good burger; in fact, the runner might actually pass 2 or 3 excellent burger places on his way to the golden arches. Instead the reason why so many would chose this is because this particular restaurant has marketed itself as THE place to go for burgers, so much so that even if you don’t necessarily like it, you figure someone else must. –Their motto is “billions and billions sold” for a reason.

What the enterprising members of the EP community must do to stay ahead of the game is to figure out how to keep their names in the minds of decision makers. Of course the need for that is not as pressing for those with steady employment, but I caution all who will listen that tomorrow is not promised. In our profession, we are trained to think three steps ahead, and I feel that should also apply to keeping an ear to the street for the next client or assignment.

In short, figure out how to develop the brand of YOU.

Elijah Shaw is the CEO of Icon Services Corporation and The National Director of the North American Bodyguard Association

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P

rof. Leonard C. Holifield, CPS, is President and CEO of the International Academy of Executive Protection Agents, LLC. He is also an honor graduate of ESI – Executive Security International and former chief security officer and personal bodyguard to the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roy S. Moore, aka the Ten Commandments Judge. With over 20 years in the security business, Prof. Holifield is considered one of the most sought after instructors in the United States.

the terms Bodyguard and Executive Protection Agent are often used in the same sentence. Don’t misunderstand me; we are all in the same protection business.

However, there are vast differences between the two.

Harlan Austin talks to

Professor Leonard C. Holifield

HA:

How did you get started in the Executive Protection Field? And what was your very first detail?

LH:

In a nutshell, before I got into executive protection, I was a full time martial arts instructor with over 35 years in the martial arts. I met then, Judge Roy Moore who was interested in karate classes for his three sons, whom I trained for several years. Later Judge Moore ran for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, he won, offered me the job to be his Chief Security Officer and the rest is history.

HA:

Who are your typical clients?

Celebrities, executives, political

figures?

LH: HA:

Executives and political figures.

What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions about the executive protection industry?

LH:

The biggest misconception is that people will often mistake the “average” bodyguard with the executive protection agent or certified protection specialist. There’s a fine line here, because

36 : : Circuit

For example, in the world of Hip Hop you will often see entourages accompanying the artist, some of these individuals are acting as “bodyguards” for that person. In reality they are close friends of the artist, maybe grew up in the same neighborhood, and have great street fighting skills but no formal EP training.

They are not to be confused with trained executive protection professionals, who are trained specifically to protect an individual from harm, often without resorting to physical violence at all.

HA:

What has been the most dangerous or challenging situation you’ve handled while protecting a client?

LH:

The most dangerous and challenging situations I’ve had to deal with are protecting my client in crowds. Especially large outdoor crowds.

The problem in that situation is the lack of access control points, metal detection and the wide open area that can place me and my client in a vulnerable situation.

HA:

You have an extensive martial arts background, as well as a military background. In my role as Principal Owner in the Website BodyguardCareers. com I receive a large number of resumes from soldiers returning from the Middle East and I would like for them to hear from you what they can do to increase their odds of working as an Executive Protection Specialist in the private sector.

LH:

Actually, the odds are increased for individuals who want to get into executive protection because of their military training. Those with a military background regardless of his/her MOS

(military occupational specialty) are viewed favorably by employers because of the leadership, discipline, attention to detail and the ability to take as well as give orders to get the job done.

A military career is highly respected and welcomed in executive protection. I was in active service in the United States Army from 1987 to 1997 and it has served me well in all of my endeavors. It is important to note that some jobs in the military such as military police, CID (Criminal Investigation Division), MI (Military Intelligence) and special forces may be more attractive to some employers.

No matter what you did in the military or what job you held, once a civilian, it is imperative to get specialized training in executive protection. After you graduate from EP school, update your resume and network, network, network. Networking is the key to working in this business. Don’t sit around waiting for your “Detail Ship” to come in–you will probably be waiting for a long time. You’ve got to put in the work and market what you have to offer to the public.

HA:

Can you share both your favorite and least favorite aspects of working in Executive Protection? (We really want to help newcomers to fully grasp just what this career is about!)

LH:

My favorite thing about working in executive protection is the satisfaction I get from doing my job and doing it well. Having protected the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for over 7 years, as well as other high profile executives–without incident–there’s no better reward than that.

My least favorite thing about working EP are clients that are not willing to pay me or any EP agent what he/she is truly worth.

This is a reality of the business. I think I speak for many agents when I tell you that there are those who value personal

Circuit :: ShopTalk protection and are willing to pay for it, and those who expect full protection service but are not willing to pay what you are worth.

HA:

Your website is really impressive.

How much of an impact has using a website as a marketing tool had on your professional career?

LH:

My website has been a great marketing tool primarily because of the millions of people out there using the Internet. I have a constant flow of traffic to my site on a daily basis. Other people link my website to theirs, which increases exposure and drives more traffic to my web site. This has had a great impact on my professional career.

Thousands of individuals visit my web site and learn that I’m an executive protection agent and international instructor. This exposure means more people know about my business (International Academy of Executive Protection Agents, LLC), which means more protection assignments and building an EP network of agents for future assignments.

HA:

What advice do you have for new people who are interested in getting into this field?

LH:

There are several things you should do to prepare. First, research the various schools and training academies with executive protection courses. You want to make sure that you’re getting the best training possible for your money. After all, it’s your life that will be on the line as well as the person you protect, so proper training is essential.

Secondly, you must be ready to sacrifice, dedicate and commit yourself to this profession. Executive protection is not for everyone. The upside is the lavish lifestyle side of the business: five star hotels, private jets, formal dinners, VIP treatment, etc, but along with that come the long hours of standing, sleep deprivation and being on call 24/7 in most cases.

Lastly, and most importantly, you must be ready to die for the person you will protect, because in this business you are as much of a target as your client. If you have doubts about your commitment to this field, then executive protection may not be the field for you.

Security Lapse Sees Royals Attacked

Prince Charles and Camilla’s vehicle recently come under attack in London whilst driving through student protests. The car window was smashed as they were enroute to the theatre.

Questions have to be asked about security and to why the route being traveled was used when the protests, which were taking place, were common knowledge.

Dai Davies, the former head of royal protection said he was “appalled” by the attack and surprised by the apparent lack of strategy.

He said: “One of the principles of protection is to have alternative routes and I would have expected there to be at least three different routes.

Thousands of students had gathered in London ahead of the vote before the protests turned violent, there were many throwing missiles and fighting to break through police lines.

Continuing Terrorist Activity In Northern Ireland

The Real IRA has claimed that it carried out a bombing in Londonderry injuring 2 Police Officers. The bomb, left in a Vauxhall Corsa, detonated an hour after a telephone warning from the terrorists on October 5th. None of this activity can be good for Northern Ireland. With Eire deep in to recession and receiving a bail out from the EU what impact will this have on the economy in the North? One of the worst hit buildings in this blast was the Da Vinci Hotel and this will do nothing to encourage investment in this area from business.

Immigration Security at Manchester Airport

The UK Border Agency has said that they have found 2 areas where people could just walk out of the airport without passing through customs and immigration checks. Manchester is the largest UK airport outside of London. It seems that the world’s airports are never out of the media in recently as our main story demonstrates. It seems highly likely that there will be future incidents involving airports.

South Korea Expects Another Attack From The North

After the bombing of a South Korean Island by the North, the South are bracing themselves for more attacks along the disputed border area where there have been numerous clashes in the past.

Since the attack the South have begun military exercises with the US and these are set to continue.

Pakistan Nuclear Fears

One of the most worrying aspects of the most recent Wikileaks was the fear over Pakistan’s nuclear material, which it is feared may well end up in the hands of terrorists. Reports have suggested that Pakistan is growing its nuclear stockpile, which is worrying given the countries obvious instability.

Interpol Issues ‘Red Notice’ For Assange

The founder of the much talked about Wikileaks site has had a red notice issued by Interpol as he is wanted for questioning in Sweden over an alleged sex offence. This is not an arrest warrant, it asks people to inform them of his whereabouts should they have any such information. Anyone believe in coincidents? We don’t!

SIA – The Future Of Regulation

There has been a huge amount of talk about the SIA on the internet since the UK Government’s spending review announced that the SIA would be affected.

As you can imagine there was a huge amount of speculation and disinformation. To this end the SIA now has a section on its website about the future of regulation so be sure to pay it a visit for up-to-date and accurate information! www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk

Secret Surveillance Regime

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected claims that the UK’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act violates your right to a private life claiming that it is proportionate.

Cost Effective Bodyguarding!

The bodyguarding of former Prime Ministers must be made as cost effective as possible according to Foreign Secretary William Hague. This has no doubt been fuelled by reports that Tony Blair’s bodyguards claimed £250,000 a year in expenses after stop overs in 5 star hotels and overseas trips with Blair. Mr Blair, who is now UN Middle East envoy has a team of bodyguards wherever he travels but Mr Hauge insists that although former PM’s do need protection that it should cost the tax payer no more than absolutely necessary.

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POLICE Vs SECURITY..... by

GENE STRATTON

In tough

times as well as prosperous times, the two teams may be competing for the same dollar (or pound depending on your position relative to the Atlantic) having different methods, temperaments and objectives. Often off duty police officers or corrections officers may be sought for Executive Protection (EP) or VIP details and are competing directly with security personnel for business.

We as security professionals are content to go through the day quietly without incident, guarding our Principal, securing our venue and joyfully making an honest living at a service we take great delight in providing.

We do advance work, plot escape routes for when the situation suddenly decomposes, and take a most definite proactive approach to safety and crime. If an incident of significant magnitude occurs, we have our escape planned and we quickly and discreetly escort our Principal to safety.

Hopefully no one will ever know that

WHERE DO

YOU

READ YOURS?

Whoa! You say it’s not supposed to be that way! Both are on the same side aren’t they? Well, not always... our Principal was ever on scene where a disreputable incident may have occurred.

I prefer to think like the little dog, and remember ...ARF! Avoid Trouble, Run from Trouble (or flee if run rubs you the wrong way), and finally, Fight Trouble, only after every other alternative has been exhausted.

As always, the use of Deadly Force is a last, last resort.

The police on the other hand, respond to crime "after the fact" making out reports, and begin their "whodunit" approach. They use the most modern equipment, consult maps of high crime and accident areas which are constantly updated, and will respond with the deadliest force imaginable if the need arises. They are drawn to crime and incident like moths to flame. Police officers that are hired as a protective detail may even momentarily forget their objective is to protect their Principal, not bust criminals. Their major flaw may be overconfidence and complacency. Who is going to mess with us? We're the boys and girls in blue, or gray as the case may be.

Similar issues may arise for those of the EP profession who are paramedics. Call to report a problem if you must but remember what it is you are being paid to do.

These are two different approaches, obviously, which supposedly have the same objective, to secure the Principal, or venue.

By no means have I covered every manner in which the two may differ. Which method is preferable, or more precisely, is to be implemented is a decision which will likely be made by your clients. It may be up to you to educate them on the methods by which their lives, property and families will be protected. Good luck and as always, stay safe!

Gene Stratton is employed by Falu Security in the Kentucky area and is a 2010 graduate of ICON’s 2010 Celebrity and VIP Protection course. For the majority of the last 25 years he has worked in the Fire, EMS, Police, and Security Industries. He is a 1985 graduate of Morehead State University. genestrattonbg@gmail.com

We asked where you read The Circuit and to send in your pictures from around the world. Thanks go to the contributions below. Send us yours for the next issue!

Jon Moss in Afghanistan sent us this, it would seem there aren’t enough copies of the magazine to go around out there.

Thanks go to BBA member Rick Smith who sent us this contribution whilst on a CP task in Shanghai

Circuit :: BooKlub Here at The Circuit, we know that despite your image, you guys like nothing more than curling up with a good book.....

Decision Points by: George W Bush Review by Mike Jones

became clear that some might find it very annoying, as it is a biography, Mr. Bush’s frequent references to ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ soon became tiresome for this reviewer but this may just be me of course! That aside I am not sure Mr Bush was trying to interject humour in to his memoirs or he just happens to talk in such a way?

Anyhow, I am sure that some will take certain parts of his prose the wrong way and if his aim was to improve his public perception then this is unlikely to be achieved by his flippancy regarding certain ‘decision points’.

Whilst, as expected, 9/11, Iraq, and Afghanistan play a large part of the book, other chapters may not have as much of the same appeal to the international reader. However US readers, as well as those interested in domestic American politics will no doubt find more of this book to their taste, but it did tend to lose me on subjects such as stem cell research; not a trivial subject by any means but not edge of the seat stuff that is for certain!

After listening to this book I am still no further forward on my opinion of George Bush? As an international reader I have no hang ups about the former American President that many US citizens may have, but as a work of literature, I just did not quite get it.

It seems to me that this book may well have been written to better establish Bush’s position in history and justify some of his more controversial decisions and actions but isn’t that the reason for many memoirs on the market?

S

ome may look at this particular audio book and wonder why we at The Circuit Magazine would possibly be reviewing it? Well the truth is that the tenure of the 43rd President of The United States was during an incredibly important time in world affairs, many of which have impacted directly on our industry, not only in the UK & USA but the world over. There have some pretty nasty things written about this book but what did we (I – reviews should be opinion of the writer) think of it?

Politics affects the security industry, of that there is no doubt – just look at the increase in global private security in recent times, most notably in Iraq and Afghanistan - the scale is immense and the sums of money involved mind boggling.

While listening to this book it soon

Would I recommend that you buy this audio book? Erm, maybe…if you don’t mind the sticker price and are curious to listen to or read what George W Bush has to say about some of the ‘major decision points’ during his tenure, then maybe it is worth purchasing, but I would have to say, I’d be disappointed if someone bought me it as a gift!

Have you read a book you’d like to share with other readers?

Send us an in-depth review and we’ll feature it in future issues of The Circuit.

Don’t forget to include your name, the name of the author and the title of the book when you send it to:info@circuit-magazine.com

Princess Anne reunited with BG

Princess Anne reunited with BG The bodyguard who took 3 bullets for Princess Anne has been reunited with the Princess Royal. Former Policeman Jim Beaton was shot 3 times by gunman Ian Ball in 1974. 4 other people were also wounded in this incident. Mr Beaton was ordered the George Cross for his bravery.

Farc Bodyguards Die In Army Attack!

In Colombia 12 bodyguards of Farc rebel Guillermo Saenz have died in an army attack. The Commandos launched a surprise raid on a base of the rebels’ supreme leader in central Colombia’s Tolima mountains.

Colombia’s army chief said it was a severe blow to the Farc, which has been fighting the state since the 1960s. In separate clashes between troops and rebels over the weekend, 10 soldiers died, officials said.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe congratulated the special forces team for the operation, which is said to have taken place in the early hours of Sunday.

Are You Short Enough?

Tall security agents have been discreetly advised not to apply for a job guarding Nicolas Sarkozy, police sources have claimed. The vertically challenged French president is said to have banned statuesque bodyguards despite their added value of being able to spot potential attackers in a crowd. It just goes to show that you will always be ‘too something’ in this game!

Iran Nuclear Talks in Geneva end without deal.

Iran and key world powers have ended their first day of talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme in more than a year without a breakthrough.

The talks in Geneva lasted nearly 10 hours and will continue. Iran said it had delivered its first domestically produced raw uranium and would now go into the talks with “strength and power”.

Western powers fear Iran may be trying to produce nuclear arms, but Tehran says its programme is purely peaceful.

Circuit : : 39

Circuit :: BoyZone

GET YOUR

KIT ON Kit reviews by Peter Jenkins and Nick McCarthy

Road Hawk Camera System

Basecamp Online Project Management Area Are you working on multiple projects? Are you sick of emails clogging your inbox?

Why not try an online collaboration area for you, your colleagues and your clients?

Basecamp from 37 Signals is really easy to use, you can upload files, presentations, set milestones, to-dos; interact with others using a message board and more! There are tutorial videos that help you get to grips with the whole thing…..we use it, it works for us! It costs but it is really reasonable…. check it out! www.basecamphq.com

Wi-Fi Device

Have the need for mobile Internet for more than one device? Don’t want to get into a year-long contract? Try the Mobile Wi-Fi device available from 3 and connect up to 5 mobile devices! The unit is available on pay as you go for £49 from various retailers and you can put as little as £10 credit on. www.threestore.three.co.uk

Mars Bar Antennae For those Surveillance Operators or Close Protection Officers carrying out recces, especially for mobile routes, then this new camera may prove useful.

A small video camera unit that records onto an SD card for up to 5 days was initially designed for insurance purposes.

The idea is to continually let the camera run from your dashboard (or windscreen) in the event that you had an accident and thus have evidence of it. The unit also incorporates a GPS which continually records the co-ordinates as you drive.

Personally, I think the original idea/ application seems a bit naff (who’s going to always record and it could be a double edged sword!) but it does have its use in surveillance planning, route planning or operationally when there is a need to video record from the vehicle.

When played back, you can view the filmed route and identify all the geographical features. The video clip can be viewed by projecting it onto a large screen for a briefing and what is also good about it, is that the playback is automatically split into two screens. On the left is the video footage and on the right is a Google Earth map, which plots the vehicle as it moves.

A good piece of kit available from Dogcam Sport for £199.00

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/roadhawkrh1-drive-camera.htm

40 : : Circuit

Need a covert antennae? One that can be taken from vehicle to vehicle? Why not give the guys at Badland a call? These guys really know their stuff and their prices are extremely reasonable. This antennae is great but only for use internally, so therefore ideal for CP convoys where distances between vehicles are short, but still more than workable for surveillance when you have to de-kit and use a rental car. Check these guys out! www.badlands.co.uk

CCTV Mate

Anyone fit covert cameras for use on surveillance or CP work? Well if you do you will need a test monitor and one of the best ones for your kit bag is the CCTVmate. For the more technically competent among you this little gem has lots of features that you can use such as a built in mutimeter, testing for breaks in cables, calibration for CCTV monitors, RS485 and more but do not be phased by this if you are not a CCTV guru.

You can connect a camera and adjust its position to be confident that the area that you wish to capture is in frame. It comes in a robust rubberised case along with a nice pouch for safekeeping and is small enough to carry when you may be fitting cameras in difficult environments. A reasonable price, excellent functionality, a variety of connectors and a 12v power source make this little gem really stand out! www.cctvmate.com

Circuit :: TechTalk

ENCRYTION FOR BEGINNERS... individual user, encryption of shared folders & file servers requires a more complete business solution.

This issues article is going to take the form of a tutorial and is going to be centered around a subject very close to my heart - encryption.

Encryption can be a pretty intimidating subject for anyone but thankfully there is a freely available solution that suits individual users down to the ground - TrueCrypt.

I’m hoping that those frequent travellers amongst us will find this advice particularly useful but its valid for anyone that has information that they would not like anyone to read should their data ever fall into the wrong hands, data encryption is one of the must-do tasks I set all the companies I deal with that assess their data as confidential or above.

TrueCrypt is squarely aimed at the

It’s freely available - I have to point out about the cost once more as its such an amazing piece of software considering the developers give it away for nothing! - from www.truecrypt.org and supports

:: Installation and Setup - Win32 1. Download the latest stable version for your platform, at the time of writing this was 7.0a

4. Choose the Install option

Windows, MacOS X and Linux. The installation and usage guide below is targeted towards the Microsoft platform as the majority of users are on Windows but you will find similar instructions for both MacOS X and Linux in the download section of the forum.

I successfully use this software on a variety of devices, including a portable USB storage device that accompanies me everywhere I go, safe in the knowledge that if I lose my data I can simply forget about it - its backed up and encrypted!

by KEITH LOOSE

7. Choose ‹no› to view the beginners guide

2. Run the downloaded file

5. Accept the default options and click ‹Install›

8. Hit Finish 9. You will then see the TrueCrypt Icon on the desktop

3. Accept the terms and conditions

6. Installation Complete

:: Create Encrypted Volume 1. Start TrueCrypt either by double clicking the desktop icon or starting TrueCrypt from the start menu, you will be presented with the screen on the next page which can look a little intimidating for the encryption newbie

Circuit : : 41

Circuit :: TechTalk 6. On the Encryption options screen you will be presented with more scary looking options… in truth all the algorithms are good, but for the most sensitive documents you should choose a combination of algos… the more layers the better!

11. FAT is usually the sensible choice for most volumes

2. Select ‹Create Volume›, the creation wizard is shown 7. I would recommend that you create multiple smaller volumes rather than a single huge one as the latter will take a very long time to format. 5Gb is pretty small for the disk I’m using but should be plenty of space for most needs 12. On my PC a 5Gb volume took about 1 min 45 seconds to format - your mileage might vary depending on the processing power available in your computer.

13. Choose exit to finish the wizard or next if you would like to create more volumes.

3. Leave ‹Create an encrypted file container› and hit next 8. Now enter your volume password, choose a value that is very secure as this is the weakest link in the chain, for further security you can use keyfiles which is outside the scope of this article.

9.

14. Now we have created our volume, but it’s nothing more than a file on our computer (or USB device) 15. Go to the TrueCrypt menu and select one of the free drive letters, select your encrypted volume and consider clearing the ‘’Never save history” option and press mount 4. Leave ‹Standard TrueCrypt volume› selected and choose next 9. You’ll note the TrueCrypt thinks anything below 20 chars is short! This is because the developers are well aware of brute force password cracking techniques, where a piece of software drives the menu automatically trying different combinations of password… every time you add a character to your password it exponentially increases the number of combinations possible.

16. You will be presented with the password box where you can enter your secure password

5. Enter a filename for the volume (This can be anything you like) and choose save, then click next

10. There are not that many people that need to store files larger than 4Gb, keeping under this very generous limit will allow you to use your volume on multiple platforms if you wish.

42 : : Circuit

Circuit :: Feature 17. Once the mount is complete you will see volume information next to your selected drive letter

LISTEN UP POD u PICKERS, IT S THE u TOP TEN APP s FOR THE CIRCUIT OK

18. But more importantly you can see that in My Computer we now have a new disk available that you can browse and start filling up your secure documents

then, so most of us know all about smart phones and how much easier they can make our lives due to their ability to surf the net, receive e-mail throughout the day and reply in quick time. However, with the emergence of phones like Apple’s i-phone and the huge amount of applications or ‘apps’ that are available for them they have become even more useful for us as we go about our daily business as operators and business people. This is our top 10 list of i-Phone applications as it stands right now - we will review this each issue so that you can download the most useful apps going – if you have any that you think the readership should know about then just let us know and we’ll take a look!

1 2

MAIL – free come on, where would you be without email?

PAGES – paid for Need to word process on the move? You can send via pages/.doc or pdf so ‘anyone’ will be able to open your document! Now better than ever after the i-Pad software upgrade. A must!

Now once you›ve finished working with your docs it is important that you Dismount the volume, by using the TrueCrypt Menu to select the drive letter and hitting the dismount button. Once you have done this all of your files are fully encrypted

There we have it, around 20 minutes you should have downloaded and installed your very first encrypted volume, it really is that easy… just don’t lose your password!

Truecrypt simply uses a flat file as the container so you can easily store this on a external USB drive, iPhone, Blackberry, network storage… basically anywhere that you can store data and the triple pass nature of the actual encryption method suggested far exceeds both US and UK military standards for encrypting sensitive information.

Next time we will be exploring a particularly emotive subject if the forum is anything to go by, social networking and its effect on the security industry.

3

iBOOKS - free A free application but you pay for the books, However, imagine how much weight you can save on overseas trips with all of your books/magazines safely stored on the iPad/iPhone!

4 5

UK TRAFFIC HD – paid for Excellent, excellent application and great value also!

AUTOGRAPH- Free It’s free for now and very useful so go get it quick before they change their minds TUBE DELUXE- Free

6 7

It’s free for now and very useful so go get it quick before they change their minds LOGMEIN – paid for Another paid for application but one that allows you to login to your computer while away from home over a wifi connection [provided it is switched on of course!] a multitude of uses. So long as the computer that you wish to access has the desktop application downloaded then you can login and tinker away till your heart is content!

8

OUTPOST – paid for Use Basecamp for your project management? Well you will be needing this then! Great application, lets you stay up to date and contribute while on the move. Would have been higher up the chart if it were not so niche.

USA TODAY – free

9

Nice app this one, really simple and gets the news to you. Has a nice news snapshots with some great images.

Twitter – free

10

The official twitter application. Nice and simple, supports multiple accounts, great little app.

Circuit : : 43

CLASSIFIED United Kingdom A.B.I. Solutions A.B.I Solutions is a dynamic, forward thinking company, specialising in surveillance, security and investigations with local, national and international experience.

A.B.I provides a wide range of services to the corporate sector and individuals alike. www.abisolutions.co.uk Alphyn UK Ltd Alphyn UK Ltd are a UK registered limited company primarily based in North Wales, with the ability to offer our range of services on a global scale. nfo@alphyn-uk.co.u Tel: +44 (0) 1745 538962 Amanda Campbell A highly motivated and experienced female operative both CP and Surveillence trained.

T – 07596542249 www.amandacampbell.org.uk ac@amandacampbell.org.uk Argus Europe County Durham, T:+44 (0) 8456 123 843 Argus Europe has been providing specialist training for high-net worth clients and their families for close to 20 years, worldwide.

Argus Europe now offer accredited training for CPO’s, Surveillance Operators and Private detectives.

Argus Europe is an operational company working globally with an extensive variety of contracts. www.arguseurope.co.uk Briareus Security Our aim is to give a complete, discreet and professional service to all of our clients, be they large corporations, small businesses, local authorities or private individuals, all tailored to meet their individual needs. www.briareussecurity.com info@briareussecurity.com Camberford Law Plc Lygon House, 50 London Road, Bromley, BR1 3RA Tel: + 44 (0) 20 8315 50 We provide bespoke insurance solutions for Bodyguard, Door Supervisor, and Security companies of all sizes. Cover can apply for worldwide services. It is an exclusive arrangement - not available to anyone else. BBA Associate Member. w w w. c a m b e r f o r d l a w. c o m / closeprotection Challenger Chauffeuring and Security Ltd Eaton Place Business Centre, 114 Washway Road, Sale, M33 7RF Tel: +44 (0) 161 905 1424 Based in South Manchester, we aim to take customer service levels to new heights by providing smart, high calibre drivers and vigilant, professional door supervisors and security staff. Licensed close protection operatives are also available to work both at home and

44 : : Circuit

abroad.

BBA Member. www.challengergroup-mcr.co.uk Covert Solutions Group International 27, Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3XX Tel: + 44 (0) 7005 964 17 A UK based Specialist Security Company with Global reach and are leading providers of Close Protection and Surveillance to Private, Executive and High Profile Clients.

BBA Member. www.covertsolutionsgroup.com Custodia T - 01432 277693 Custodia is an independent client focused Specialist Security & Risk Management Company, specialising in Risk consultancy and Security project management. Providing a comprehensive portfolio of Risk mitigation solutions to assist Businesses and individuals to plan for, manage and mitigate risk. www.custodia.co.uk DF Risk Management Solutions Telephone : +44 (0)7837642686 / +44 (0)7758743918 DF Risk Management Solutions N.I. is a modern, professional risk management company, with a diverse range of global strategic experiences and a team of executives who possess dynamic but complementary backgrounds. www.dfriskmanagementsolutionsni.com D.McKenzie Associates Stacey Bushes, Milton Keynes, MK12 6HL Tel: + 44 (0) 1908 225474 Operational management, training, threat and risk assessment, threat management, executive (personal) and corporate security / investigations. BBA Member. www.dmckenzieasociates.com First Class Executive Security Nottingham, UK, Tel: 0115 9266466 Nottingham based, full-service company specializing in Bodyguards and Security Consulting services. Extensive experience in VIP security, also caters for public and private sectors. www.firstclasssecurity.co.uk Goodege T – 0845 052 3619 (24hrs) GOODEGE are specialists in the rental of performance and luxury cars including Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ferrari and other quality marques. www.goodege.com Gordon Russell Highly trained frontline Close Protection Operatives available for UK and International contracts. Our experienced CPO’s can offer bespoke packages to meet all clients needs, including a variety of language

skills. All SIA licenced, BBA member Email - Bodyguard-cpo@Email.cz Tel - +44 (0)7917 281 004 HR Security Tel: 0207 4195 665 HR Security specialises in a broad spectrum of security services to suit corporate organisations, private clients, local authorities and the legal profession. Our professionals include former members of the elite Special Forces, and all have extensive experience in both security and military operations worldwide, enabling us to offer a diverse range of specialised security services. www.hrsecurity.co.uk info@hrsecurity.co.uk IPSS Security Northfield, Aberdeen, AB16 7EX Tel: + 44 (0) 1224 69455 Security and protection services UK and overseas. BBA Member. www.ippssecurity.co.uk ISS Training Ltd Riverside Cottages, Nidd Walk, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate, HG3 5NA Tel: + 44 (0) 1423 712265 ISS Training Limited are providers of specialist covert surveillance training courses and publications to the security and investigative industries, enforcement agencies and specialist military units.

Formed in 1990, we are the longest established surveillance training company in the United Kingdom. Our credibility and reputation is widespread and we offer nationally recognised qualifications. BBA Member. www.intelsecurity.co.uk John Featherstone 24hrs : +44 (0)7702 740722, john@johnfeatherstone.co.uk Security professional with operational experience gained in a variety of theatres. Main specialities close protection and surveillance. www.johnfeatherstone.co.uk Kevin Mullin Location Glasgow, Tel: 24hrs +44 (0)7885790954 Sia Licensed Security Consultant and Front line CPO. Avalible for deployment worldwide. www.kevinmullin.co.uk km@kevinmullin.co.uk One Events Grantham, UK, Tel – 0870 974 6779 One Events offers you a stress free solution in the organisation, putting together and running of an event. This is accomplished by having a group of specialised companies from different industries working together for a more complete service for you. www.oneevents.info PPSS Group T: +44 (0) 845 5193 953 F: +44 (0) 1765 603 512 Body armour and stab vests pro-

To place a classified lineage or box advertisement telephone our sales team on: 0845 519 2538

vide a functional solution to individuals who require extra protection in their chosen vocation. All PPSS (formerly ASEO) body armour and stab vests are certified by the UK’s Home Office (HOSDB) and offer unrivalled protection from blunt trauma caused by a punch, blow or kick. Based on our professional frontline experience and extensive research we can confirm that an impact based assault is a more likely event than an attack involving an edged weapon or firearm.

E: info@ppss-group.com W: www.ppss-group.com

Prometheus Medical Ltd T - (+44) 1568 613942 Prometheus deliver unrivalled bespoke emergency medical support in the form of specialist equipment, training, strategic advice and deployed clinical care. www.prometheusmedical.co.uk Prosec Consultancy Ltd Wiltshire, UK, Tel: 01373 823874 Prosec Consultancy Limited are dedicated in providing a professional service, which covers a whole range of security services throughout the security industry. www.prosec-ltd.co info@prosec-ltd.com Richard James Cooper 24hrs : +44 (0) 7890 676839 , info@richardjamescooper.co.uk Experienced Security Professional and Front Line Close Protection Officer. www.richardjamescooper.co.uk SGS Tel: +44 (0)1252 546957 semagurkha is an elite security provider, founded and directed by an ex Royal and Diplomatic Protection Officer and manned by fully trained, SIA licensed, English speaking, ex Gurkha professionals.

We offer a flexible, discreet and expert support service to design, deploy and manage security services customised to fit your specific requirements and dynamics. enquire@semagurkha.com Shaun West United Kingdom, E: sw@shaunwest.co.uk T: +44 (0)7830 109 601 SIA licensed, Highly Experienced Frontline CPO. Ronin SA trained.

Providing security for both corporate and hostile environments. www.shaunwest.co.uk Sphere Protection Services Sphere Protection Services is a vibrant and independent Training and Specialist Security provider specializing in providing quality training and development for corporate and private clients. www.sphereprotection.com, info@sphereprotection.com Veritas Group Romania, Hungry, UK Head of Security, WS Carr +44 73 50 50 967 Operations, M Gray

CLASSIFIED +40 73 50 50 971 wwwvamsrl.com Viking Security 185 Langworthy Rd, Salford, Manchester, M6 5PW Tel: + 44 (0) 161 745 880 Our aim is to provide first class security solutions. By using the skills of our dedicated team of professionals, we will ensure the very best service and support is offered to all our clients. BBA Member. www.vikingsecurity.co.uk VIPA Tactical Training A specialist training academy dealing with four specific areas of combat: VIPA Civilian Self Protection Program, VIPA Close Protection Combat System, VIPA Police Defence Tactics and VIPA Military Close Quarter Combat. BBA Member. www.VIPAtacticaltraining.com

Europe & Africa International Security Academy P.O.Box 5833, Herzeliya, 46000, ISRAEL Tel: + 972 9 950 0969 Our graduates are more recognized, respected and sought after

by Distinguish Protection service “consumers” and by most of the “Providers” of Protection services worldwide. Organisers of the 2008 International Summit of Protection Officers. BBA Member. www.SecurityAcademy.org.il Ipeleng Risk Management PO BOX 3904 | Randburg | 2125 | Gauteng | South Africa Telephone : +27 11 781 6388 / 6390, We value devotion to our clients needs. We value the creation of excellence in everything we do. We value each employee as a unique contributor to our success. We value social sensitivity to ensure that we are always in harmony with the needs of the society. www.ipeleng.co.za Military Grade Encryption Phones PO Box 52310, Limassol, CYPRUS Tel: + 357 7777 7276 Built-in encryption software which converts your voice to encrypted data using a constantly changing mathematical formula. It uses a dual layered RSA/AES combination and a changing session key which modifies the encryption algorithm every second. € 1,398.00 + VAT.

All prices include new Nokia N73 phone. BBA Member. www.protechcy.com/new Multi Tier Solutions Ltd. Modiin, Israel +972 8 926 5091 secure@multi-tier.com www.Multi-Tier.com A specialist risk management company providing security management software (off the shelf and custom), covert protection services, security auditing, specialized training in the fields of counter terror, covert protection and surveillance detection. Israel Ministry of Defense licensed secure@multi-tier.com www.Multi-Tier.com

Americas Bodyguard Careers Bodyguard Careers is an informational site with the purpose of providing bodyguards with all the information and tools necessary to succeed in the Close Protection Industry Info@BodyguardCareers.com www.BodyguardCareers.com Canadian Use of Force Systems 7975 Yonge St. # 7124, Innisfil, ON, L9S 1L0, CANADA Tel: + 1 705 456 4333 A professional Use of Force and Defensive Tactics organization teaching a full range of controlled response options for Self-Protection and Use of Force considerations in public and professional environments. BBA Associate Member. www.canadianuseofforce.com Contact Front Photography +1 (612) 369-6134 Contact Front Photography is the world’s 1st photography studio dedicated to the Close Protection Professional. Stop putting generic or pirated photos on your website; instead commission custom shots to best represent you or your agency.

Info@ContractFrontPhotography. com www.ContactFrontPhotography.com Decisiones Estratégicas Buenos Aires – Argentina Tel: +54(911) 6415 1941 E: jbenitez@d–estrategicas.com Executive protection specialists we have experienced in all Latin America, for multinationals companies, also providing support in project throughout Latin America to con-

sulting first the US. and UK. We have a team of specialists and psychologists in assistance and crisis negotiation. www.d–estrategicas.com Detective Lacerda P.O.BOX 25996, São Paulo, 05513-970 , BRAZIL Tel: + 55 (11) 3452 4388 Providing the full range of security and investigation services throughout Latin America.

BBA Member. www.detectivelacerda.cjb.net Icon Services Corporation 1043 Grand Ave. #312, St. Paul, MN 55105, USA Tel: + 1 651 695 8778 A full service security and investigative agency specializing in providing high-level security and bodyguards to international celebrities, public figures and corporations.

Licensed, bonded and insured, our diverse roster of clients reads as a virtual who’s who in the corporate, motion picture, fashion and recording industry. Entering into our 10th year, Icon has been the hand picked choice to provide Executive Protection to everyone from Superintendents to Supermodels.

BBA Member. www.Industry-Icon.com Imperial Protective Service, LLC 15849 N. 71st Street, Suite 100, Scottsdale , Arizona, 85254, USA Tel: + 1 480 281 1588 Imperial Protective Service’ (IPS) is a security consulting and services firm founded in 1978. IPS provides both national and international corporate, executive and celebrity protective services. BBA Member. www.executiveprotect.com Panther Protection Services 3695F Cascade Road Suite 2207 Atlanta, GA 30331 (404) 349-9117 Panther Protection Services is a full service protection agency offering such services as threat assessment, executive protection, self-defense training, firearms instruction, and high risk tactical protection. Our executive protection specialists have over 75 years of experience. Panther can handle your protection needs whether around the corner or around the world. Member: BBA and NABA www.pantherprotectionser-

To place a classified lineage or box advertisement telephone our sales team on: 0845 519 2538

vices.com

SILVER STAR PROTECTION www.silver-star-protection.com Executive protection, site and event security with global experience. Serving southern Minnesota with integrity and professionalism.

Former USSS, ICON Alumni. available for domestic and international travel.

Robert E. Jones Manager/CEO rejones@silver-star-protection.com Tony Scotti’s Vehicle Dynamics Institute 1162 St. Georges Ave, Suite 277 , Avenel, NJ 07001, USA Tel: + 1 732 738 5221 The first name in advanced driver training, offering our highly acclaimed Protective/Evasive Driving Programs. Designed specifically for today’s executive chauffeurs, executive protection professionals and others who are responsible for providing safe and secure transportation services. BBA Member. www.vehicledynamics.net Vindex Personal Protection & Investigation Inc. 497 Hooksett Rd #365 Manchester NH 03104 603.289.3161 / Full service Private Investigations & Executive Protection.

10 years combined Law Enforcement, Private security, close protection work, & security contracting. NY Mayors, U.S. President’s, NFL owners, and VIP’s are some of the protection work I’ve gained experience with. ICON alumni, NABA member. vindexinc@aol.com /vindexinc.com

Asia Pacific Saint Security Consultants Pte Ltd 20 Kramat Lane, #03-04 United House, 228733, SINGAPORE Tel: + 65 67373104 Licenced by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Singapore Police Force, Saint Security Consultants Pte Ltd was incorporated by former Police officers from various departments and specialist professionals with decades of expertise in Criminal and Commercial Investigation, Intelligence Operations as well as Security Planning and Management. BBA Member. www.saint-security.com

Circuit : : 45

THE NORTH AMERICAN BODYGUARD ASSOCIATION PRESENTS:

ICON Celebrity & VIP Protection Training “Professional guys, they know their stuff & come highly recommended.” ~ Sha money XL, Personal Manager to 50 Cent

Course Highlights • Operating in the world of Celebrity & VIP Protection • Protecting the Principal (Individual & Team) • Transportation movements and logistics • Working the red carpet & major events • Dealing with fans, paparazzi & stalkers • How to market yourself and establish a career in the industry

Circuit The

The Circuit is compiled, edited and published in the UK and US quarterly by: The British Bodyguard Association. www.The-BBA.org.uk Info@The-BBA.org.uk Tel: +44 845 519 2538

Make yourself more marketable in the new economy!

Icon Services Corporation is proud to present a five-day course of practical theory and hands-on training in the world of Celebrity & VIP Protection. If you are new to the bodyguard industry or a current operator looking to refresh and polish your skills, this course will offer excellent instruction into the professional side of Close Protection work. Taught by industry veteran Elijah Shaw, who in addition to his corporate clients, has traveled the world as the personal bodyguard of international public figures such as musical giant Usher, supermodel Naomi Campbell, and rap megastar 50 Cent, the course will offer real world problems, scenarios, and solutions from instructors that are currently active in the industry.

www.Industry-Icon.com/Training Discount for BBA & NABA Members Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) For more info contact: 1 (651) 695-8778 or email Training@industry-icon.com

Contributors: Harlen ‘Hucky’ Austin

Christopher Burman-Day Vanessa Gayle Cohen David Mirza

Jacquie Davis

Nick McCarthy Rob McGill

Ryan Naish

David Preece David Ruben

Vicky Horn

Elijah Shaw

Mike Hurse

Gene Stratton

Peter Jenkins

Shaun West

Justin Johnson Keith Loose

Christer Wretfors

Additional Photography: Kal Wilkins

Design and Layout: Kal Wilkins

DISCLAIMER While every care has been taken to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is both accurate and up-to-date, The Circuit accepts no liability in any part for loss or damage incurred by reliance on information contained in this magazine through omissions, errors, howsoever caused. © COPYRIGHT Copyright remains with the authors and contributors at all times. No part of this publication can be copied or reproduced in any way whatsoever without permission from the publisher AND the author / contributor.

As you can see the most important person in the team, once mobile, is the driver!”

Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Close Protection Driver Course Course contents includes: • • • • • •

Close protection driving techniques Advanced defensive driving Security principles for mobile security Chauffeur protocol & etiquette Incident management Emergency first aid

•

Work with/in a close protection team?

•

Want to know more about your specialist role?

•

Want to be qualified to the same level?

•

Want to develop your employment opportunities?

•

Want to work around the Olympics?

•

Want to get ahead of the competition?

Security Chauffeur College, Atrium Court, The Ring, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1BW Tel 01344 393066 Web www.securitychauffeurcollege.com

CRITICAL NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PREVENT

Institute of Professional Drivers and Chauffeurs Driving for better business

|

PROTECT ROTECT

2011 |

PREPARE

G4S Risk Management

Did you know that G4S recruits directly from its specialist training courses?

Did you know that our graduates are highly sought after?

Contact us for details of our next Open Day Tel: +44 (0)1432 850223 Email: specialisttraining@uk.g4s.com Or visit: www.g4sspecialisttraining.com

G4S Risk Management offers specialist training courses to prepare men and women for employment in the private security industry.

Our courses include:  Phoenix Close Protection  Enhanced Close Protection Driving  Ship Security Officer  Medical/First Aid Our instructors are former UKSF with real-time skills and experience proven in domestic and hostile environments.

G4S Specialist Training – increasing your chance of securing commercial employment opportunities.